Tragic final moments of base jumper who died jumping off Yosemite peak protesting decision to ban base jumping after previous death of base jumper
The final moments of a base jumper before she leapt to her death from a peak in Yosemite National Park were tragically caught on camera.
Jan Davis, from Santa Barbara, had been among a group of people who leapt from El Capitan with the aim of demonstrating that base jumping could be carried out safely.
The jump was staged following the death of a previous jumper who had successfully managed to parachute off the rock formation, but had drowned in the river below while trying to escape park rangers in June 1999.
Five jumpers had taken part in the pre-arranged protest in October 1999, of which Davis - a veteran parachutist - was the fourth to leap.
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All five people had agreed to land in an area agreed upon with park rangers, who would then arrest them and confiscate their equipment.
But when Davis leapt from El Capitan, her parachute failed to open and the 60-year-old plummeted 3,200 feet to her death.
Associated Press photographer Paul Sakuma told the Los Angeles Times at the time: “The first three were beautiful. And then she jumped.
"Everybody thought it was OK, and then people said, ‘Open up! Open up!’"
Scott Gediman, a park spokesperson, said: “They agreed ahead of time to land in a designated area, allow themselves to be arrested, forfeit their equipment.
"We give them a citation for illegal air delivery and the US magistrate sets the fine, traditionally about $2,000."
Witnesses claimed that Davis had not used her own gear during the jump as she didn't want it to be confiscated when she landed.
This had a different system for activating the parachute to her own equipment, and in base jumping there isn't time to activate a backup chute.
Davis' death was witnessed by her husband Tom Sanders, who 'slumped onto his camera in grief after she fell', according to the LA Times.
Speaking about his loss to CBS in 2000, Sanders said: "I saw her exit. I wasn't concerned for her safety. Now, I know that sounds ridiculous. But there are jumps that I worried a lot about. But this is a very, very forgiving BASE jump. And yet, she died there."
He added: "As far as I could tell, she looked, she had (a) good, stable exit. There was never any tumbling. And she just continued to fall, and fall, and fall.
"But when she continued to fall, and once I saw the trees come into frame, I knew it was too late.
"It was awful. I lost my best friend."
Kit Roberts