9-Year-Old Aussie Skydiver

From the Camden Macarthur Chronicle:

Dad Russell Brown, an instructor at the skydive centre, said his daughter had been “bugging” him for ages to do a jump.

“She basically comes to work with me; I knew she had the maturity and understanding to know what she was doing,” he said.

While the legal skydiving age in Australia is 14, Elise took advantage of a trial by the Australian Parachute Federation and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

So what do you guys think; is nine too young to understand the risks of skydiving?

How young is too young to skydive?

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  • nicolai

    If parrents or legal guardian will grant permission I see no big issue in letting a child doing a tandem jump.

    Solo jump I’d say 16 years old, with parrents permission.

    Otherwise 18.

    I started solo skydiving at 17.. Never done a tandem.

  • http://Facebook.com/jonnyjonster Jonathan salgado

    I don’t feel you can put an age on maturity. Different people grow up at different speeds. 9 although seeks like an awfully young age to put someones life into there own hands. I think 16 would be the youngest I would feel comfortable with and of course that depends on the person.

  • Jarrod Greenway

    I think legal age of 18 and over would be appropriate for skydiving as it is a lethally dangerous sport for youngsters to get involved with,I mean they smoke at a young age and drink but jumping out of an aircraft with a parachute on their backs is an adult thing and not for a child….

    • Oskar Streiter

      Hm. I´m 15 years old and began skydiving last year (155 skydives, Germany). I think it depends on the personality of a person. A minimum age for tandem skydives is not necessary. I think to begin skydiving between 14-16 years is perfect because you learn so much faster.

      • alistair clark

        where does that fact come from? oh right a 15 year old.

        • L

          There’s no problem with that age, what are you saying, that a fifteen year old can’t be educated or make responsible decisions?? Regardless of age, people are entitled to their own opinions based on their past experiences and this fifteen year old seems to have a whole lot of experience (155 jumps).

  • Justin James McCorkle, B-33300

    I think we in the US have really hampered the ability of our children to excel by placing artificial age limits on certain arbitrary issues in the guise of maintaining so-called majority moral standards.

    Placing blue law age limits on things like drinking certain beverages, skydiving, white water rafting, etc. etc. just creates a De facto/lawful discrimination system.

    Parents should decide things like this, not the government.

  • Justin

    No one who is under 18 should be allowed to doing something that has the risks and potential consequences of sky diving. You can lose your life though unlikely, but I still don’t believe even the parents should be able to make this choice nor anybody under 18.

  • JCW

    The minimum age to skydive must be 16 years of age, it is a sport were if you do have a malfuction then taking the appropriate action is a life saving action.

    I believe that we shouldn’t put minors in this position as there jugdement is not the same as an adults, they do not see fear the same way. Never rely on an AAD.

  • Mitch Friedman

    The judgment of an 18 yo is questionable let alone someone younger. Tandom jump with parent consent any age over 14 is reasonable. Skydiving alone with parent consent over 16 and without 18. Our ability to make good judgments does not fully develop till mid to upper 20′s. Look at the car accident rate of 16 to 25 year olds. Skydiving is an extreme sport with inherent dangers that can kill even the most experienced of us. Letting a nine year old skydive is child abuse the same as letting a nine year old drive the car to the mall.

  • alistair clark

    pretty loaded subject. the issues go deeper than opinion unfortunately ( legalities ect.). i personally believe life saving responsibility should be left to people who are past the adolecent stage of brain development. just to improve the chances of logical decisions.

  • skydiverbenni

    What a load of crap. I was driving cars at 9. Shooting rabbits. Competent water skier and snow skier. Whats the bloody difference with skydiving? How many kids drown each year in their backyard pools? Should we just chain our kids up until they’re brain is fully grown(some I think never do). Kids should be allowed to skydive if they understand what is happening and a girl that has probably spent all her life at a dropzone surely would. Im sure she had a ball. Good onya.

    • Lily

      I agree!

  • Daniel

    i would love it if 13 year old kids could skydive but only if a parent or guardian will sign a permission slip for the child

    • Daniel

      please agree. If you do then you will be very appreciated.

  • Daniel

    if possible please have a press conference about this. I am 13 myself but this will be very well appreciated if this will be approved. If this is approved then this will make hundreds maybe even thousands of people and kids happy. I just think that kids and adults should go to a safety course first for about twice a week for 3 weeks or however long it will take to get to be able to go. please vote for A 9-year-old should be able to skydive, no problem. except i think that only 13 and up should be aloud under those circumstances. please vote for A 9-year-old should be able to skydive, no problem.

  • Daniel

    ok even i agree with skydiverbenni

  • Bailey

    If 13 year olds could go sky diving I would be able to live out my life long dream. I mean really? Why should I wait till im 18 to jump out of a plane when I wanted to when I was 5. Why can’t people just realize that just because it could be life threatening and dangerous, it could be a learning experience? If children under 18 years of age had the proper training they could go skydiving safely. There will always be risks for everything. Skydiving is just one of the many things.

  • jeremiah

    A minor can serve in the military and die for their country, be a pilot, drive a car, but that cant be connected to a professional who does all the work and decision making after the jump.

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