If you know how and why a skydiving incident occurs, then you can help to reduce them. read these incidents and discuss them with your instructors and fellow skydivers. Always have a plan for a known incident so you don't become another statistic.
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Home - Assembly - Safety System - Equipment - Maintenance
Main Packing - Reserve Packing - Rigging - Tandem
Most jumpers will admit that they don't always look as thoroughly as they should prior to exiting the aircraft. And, it is a fact that we often see what we expect to see, and may not see what we don't expect to see. This could easily have been a multiple fatality. DZ controllers and jumpmasters must be aware of the need to make sure it really is 'clear to drop'.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A fairly recent D licence jumper did a solo cloud base descent from 3,500ft wearing a rig with pullout deployment. At pull time he lost the pad; the pin had in fact been extracted but the pilot chute was still on the container and failed to inflate in the 'burble'. After an unsuccessful attempt to reach for the pilot chute, he cut away, deployed his reserve and landed safely.
Some jumpers strongly maintain you can retrieve a handle in tow, but this is at least difficult, and is complicated by the fact that you have no way of knowing how far deployment has proceeded, or indeed whether something else is stopping deployment. A more experienced jumper might have tried a steeper body position to try to sweep the pilot chute out, but then you could go on trying that for the rest of your life!
Jumpers using pullout pilot chutes should consider what they would do in such a situation. Some jumpers still dispute whether you should cut away before pulling the reserve. It’s difficult to say what will happen if both canopies deploy at the same time or whether the main will deploy slowly after the reserve. Talk to your instructors and get their advice.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
In separate incidents at two different drop zones; two jumpers attempted to do a late turns into wind when too low. One landed on his side and was fortunate to suffer only heavy bruising. The other suffered multiple injuries including fractures to his vertebrae, pelvis and ribs. Both were very experienced, one exceptionally so and both were under very high performance canopies.
In both cases the reported weather was perfect; there should have been no problem landing safely. On the other hand, high spirits after a good dive on a lovely day are just the sort of factors that lead to this sort of display
The dangers of radical manoeuvres near the ground, particularly under 'hot' canopies, are well documented and have been the subject of a BPA poster campaign, but jumpers continue to risk injury or death for no good reason. It has to be said that experienced jumpers, including some instructors and even CCIs, are often the culprits. It’s not surprising then, that lesser mortals try to emulate them who haven't got the same experience level.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A Category 10, C licence holder was making an early morning balloon jump in ideal conditions near, but not into, a major DZ. On final approach the canopy hit a set of high tension cables and finished up wrapped round one of the cables by the pilot chute. The jumper was unhurt.
Though not stated, this was probably the jumper’s first experience of jumping outside the protected environment of a parachute ,club. She was lucky. Balloons give jumpers limited control over their spot; but the same problem applies to anyone who finds they have left the plane at the wrong place. We all get (or give) bad spots sometimes. And power cables are notoriously hard to see from the air unless you're looking for them.
When 'away from home' jumpers must pay special attention to picking a suitable and safe place to land and this process must start high. Initially it is hard to read terrain from altitude but with practice you can learn to interpret all available information for a better picture. The Operations Manual states it is usually better to take a crosswind or downwind landing than to risk hitting a hazard. You might also take a tip from many experienced display jumpers: just before emplaning, check where the wind is coming from and relate it to the position of the sun. That way you always know which way to land one less thing to worry about. When under canopy look carefully for difficult objects like power lines especially when you're jumping in a new environment.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A very experienced jumper suffered a premature 'firing' of his brake line on deployment, which then completely locked the brake line on that side. He landed uneventfully.
Many students remain unaware that it is perfectly possible to fly and land even a 'hot' canopy (which this was) safely and comfortably without brakes. Once confident under canopy, all jumpers should consider making one or two jumps using riser control only.
Consult your instructor or CCI for a brief; and make sure you're aware that there is a considerable difference between back and front riser control the latter is radical and can be dangerous in inexperienced hands. Always remember that prevention is the best cure so take care when packing and don't neglect your maintenance.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A highly experienced jumper had a hard opening on an F111 canopy, resulting in one snapped line. Having decided the canopy was flyable, the jumper elected to land it. At about 600 feet a second line snapped. The resulting hard landing caused injuries to his foot and ankle resulting in a trip to the local hospital. A similar report had another very experienced jumper electing to fly a canopy with two 'A' lines snapped. At flare height, the canopy collapsed and this jumper ended up with three chipped vertebrae and a fractured pelvis.
The obvious conclusion to be drawn is that these were (with hindsight) the wrong decisions. There is always the temptation to stay with all those remaining lines and ignore the fact that one or two have snapped. I have many more reports of broken lines and damaged canopies this season, the difference is that all the others were 'merely' malfunctions whilst these two, sadly, became injury reports. Most line breaks are caused by hard, off heading openings or poor maintenance. The lines can get damaged if the slider grommets are dented or have sharp burrs.
Most modern high performance canopies with line damage will let you know in no uncertain terms that they are not even flyable, let alone landable. Older F111 canopies can be a little more misleading. They may appear to be quite controllable with a few lines damaged. The decision about what to do is a judgment call. All BPA courses have guidelines on helping you make this decision, give this situation some thought and if you're not sure on how to decide, ask your Chief Instructor. Most line breaks can be prevented with a little planning. Question your openings, if you consistently get hard, off heading openings then you need some packing tuition. Inspect your lines and slider grommets on a regular basis, the main area of ram air broken lines is at the connector links, normally the outside lines and also at the cascaded points. Talk to your rigger on how you can reduce line wear on your particular system. Inspect your lines and get any damage checked by a rigger.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
There have been several reports throughout the season of Automatic Activation Devices firing. One was sent back to the manufacturer, following a fault on the ground. It was found to be a unique error, i.e. the only time the error had ever occurred. One fired whilst the main ( square) canopy was in the second of two 360 turns. Another fired at altitude whilst the jumper was at terminal velocity, several thousand feet too high.
There are no patterns and trends in these reports as such, other than the fact that no-one was injured as a result of the firings, and that in all cases the units were returned to either manufacturers or maintenance facilities for inspection.
It is important to remember some key points about AAD operation. First and foremost they are a backup only, or a survival tool. Just like airbags, and safety belts, from time to time they will not perform as expected. The manufacturers must be informed of any situation where their product does something unexpected, so that they can spot any pattern of events which could indicate something more serious. Secondly, AADs must be operated as per their operating instructions. For example all FXC's should be ‘J’ modified, If they aren't, your breaking the law. The Student Cypres has two firing descent rates, one of them is 43 feet per second. It will activate if you descend faster than the rate dictated by the type of unit. Even a docile student square can exceed 43 feet per second after a couple of turns. All of this information can be found in the users manual.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
An experienced jumper 2000+ jumps was doing a sit flying jump using a baggy nylon tracksuit. During the skydive, the jacket inflated over the rig. On deployment the jumper had hold of the BOC toggle and part of the jacket. When he attempted to deploy the pilot chute it tangled with the jacket, the jumper managed to clear the pilot chute but opened very slow.
We must assume that every thing we wear is classed as parachute equipment during all parachute descent, and looking closely at clothing is just as important as any other piece of skydiving equipment.
When using baggy tracksuits the type of material should be taken into consideration, and how the top is secured. Check before emplaning to make sure nothing can affect the deployment sequence.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
3 static line students had very bad exits resulting in entanglement with the deploying canopy. One student managed to cutaway and land safely under the reserve; however the other 2 landed with both main and reserves deployed, one resulted in injuries on landing and was taken to hospital.
2 AFF students went unstable on deployment resulting in the deploying canopy entangling with his legs, both students cutaway and deployed their reserves with no further problems
If you don't have a good body position during deployment; you may cause yourself a problem, and this report shows the consequences of what can happen.
Concentrating on the practical training during a course can reduce these problems. Good exit training out of a mock up improve techniques which could prevent entanglements during static line exits.
When debriefing AFF students concentration on their body position and ensure the students stay perfectly stable during deployment. Enforce this drill on every skydive.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
2 students and 1 experienced jumper failed to deploy the main parachute because they could not find the toggle. They carried out reserve drills and landed without further incident.
Three reserve rides could have been prevented by either improving drills or a final check by the jumper that the toggle was in place prior to leaving the aircraft. The 4th was caused by bad packing and is a common problem with pin pulls.
Practice deploying the pilot chute while wearing a rig, and building up the muscle memory so it becomes a natural action. Always check your handles are in place prior to exiting the aircraft.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
If using a pin pull the same applies as well as making sure it’s packed with slack so that when pulling the pin you're not pulling any material
One experience jumper had a reserve deploy while standing up in the aircraft and 2 student Cypres fired while descending in the aircraft as the jump run was cancelled due to cloud.
The security of the reserve pin should not have been affected by moving so it was either knocked or the closure loop was to long. The student Cypres will fire if it descends faster than a deployed canopy and most aircraft's can achieve this during decent. This could cause a catastrophic accident if the aircraft has no door or the door is open
Check the security of the reserve pin prior to getting on board and if an aircraft has to land with jumpers on board inform the pilot that Cypres is on board so they can descend slowly and turn off affected AAD´s.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
3 jumpers had bag lock, 8 had line over's, 4 had pilot chute in tows, 2 could not release one control toggle, 2 had line knots, 2 had pilot chute over the front of the canopy. All did the correct reserve drills and landed without further incident
Bad packing is without doubt the cause of most of these typical malfunctions
Maybe a packing test should be given to all jumpers who have these type of malfunctions to see if the problem can be spotted and prevented by improving packing techniques and knowledge.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
2 jumpers deployed their reserves without cutting away the malfunctioned main parachutes, resulting in having 2 canopies out. One cutaway after the canopies went into a down plane and landed without further incident and the other landed with both parachutes very dazed.
When in an unnatural environment and you're suddenly faced with a high stress situation, like a malfunction, it’s very important to rely on drills taught and in these cases the drills were not instinctive
Make sure reserve drills are practiced on a regular basis and they become very instinctive.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
Two skydivers lost altitude awareness during a freefly jump. Both jumpers realised and deployed their main parachutes but the Cypres activated both their reserves at the same time. This puts them around the seven hundred feet point at deployment time. Both jumpers cutaway and landed on their reserve safely.
Conclusions
Altitude awareness is one of the first survival skills that we're taught and as we move on to other skills it becomes neglected as it's generally accepted that it's now second nature, and this is true. However, experience has taught us that losing altitude awareness happens more than anyone will admit. The pressure of doing well on a skydive can cause anyone to lose altitude awareness
Recommendations
When a skydive doesn't go to plan educate yourself to check the altitude before resuming the skydive. For example; if you fail to dock it does not take long to check your altitude before trying again and if you're taking longer than you should then check again. Buy yourself an audible altitude device and use it as a backup not as a primary decision maker. I always set my audible five hundred feet lower than my break off height. I do this so I don't end up relying on the audible before breaking off because this type of thinking reduces your safety margin. If you rely on visual altitude first and audible second you have double the safety margin and this helps to train you to remain altitude aware at all times. If you change from formation flying to freefly then beware as your altitude goes much quicker because of the faster speeds but your body clock could still be tuned into formation skydiving
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
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Three jumpers successfully carried out reserve drills after malfunctions and then had bad landings on their reserve parachutes resulting in injuries
One jumper went from his 170 main to a 135 reserve, one went from a 220 main to a round reserve and the third had similar sized main and reserve.
Jumping a large main and having a small reserve is never a good idea, also having a round and not being prepared to end up on it is also not a good idea. Check the compatibility between your main and reserve parachutes and make sure that you can handle them both.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A Category 9 AFF graduate was on a solo descent and attempted a 'stand up' in freefall. As he did so, his main parachute deployed. He landed successfully.
It’s impossible to be certain what happened even the jumper's recollection is often faulty in such cases, but it is assumed that turbulence at the base of the container pulled out the pilot chute, which (though not specifically stated in the report) was presumably a bottom of container (BOC) type.
The conclusion locally was that jumpers should not do stand ups when using throwaway pilot chutes, but this seems rather sweeping! It’s more likely that the pilot chute was already deployed as a result of either a packing error or disturbance in the plane, or during exit. However, BOC deployment is relatively new and free stylists ( and sit flyers) should perhaps consider an extra pre exit check.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A category 8 jumper with 115 jumps to his credit bought himself a new small high performance canopy. On his first jump he pulled rapidly on his control toggles to do a fast spiral. The canopy responded to his radical action and turned so fast that it put itself into twists which subsequently locked the control lines. The jumper carried out his reserve drills and landed safely on his reserve.
Conclusions
This jumper didn't break any official rules but he did break every common sense rule there is when it comes to down sizing and moving onto high performance canopies. Any drop zone who allows this is risking the wrath of the BPA so it's difficult to believe that this could happen on a BPA drop zone. This jumper somehow got through a system that's designed to prevent this type of thing from happening. This jumper should never have been on this canopy which is obvious from his experience and jump numbers and his actions have proven this.
Recommendations
When buying new equipment seek advice, lots of advice and listen to what you're told. Don't try to progress too quickly, the thrill you seek is a thrill you're not yet ready for. Instructors keep a look out for this type of student and educate them as best as you can or ground them, it's in their best interest and in the best interest of the sport.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A noticeable trend recently has been a number of mid-air shoulder dislocations. Examples include three jumpers; one dislocated his shoulder on exit, one dislocated his shoulder in freefall and the third one on deployment. None of them could explain the reason for the dislocation, they just seemed to happen. Two of them managed to deploy their main parachutes, of which one had to reach across his body with his left hand and deploy his leg strap throwaway. The third was saved by his cypres AAD. All three dislocations were on the deployment hand
Conclusions
It is clear that in some (not all) cases there were known problems before hand, but they thought it has been cured. I am told that a dislocation weakens the joint and it becomes more susceptible to future dislocations. I don't know weather this is true or not but it's something to consider. Instructors need to be on the lookout for such problems.
Recommendations
If you've had a dislocation before talk to your doctor about your concerns. Give a lot of though to your emergency procedure. Let your instructor know what has happened in the past as they could help to customise your emergency drills. This type of injury may be a potential problem for some skydivers so the above might be all that's required, however, if you are a definite risk then talk to your rigger about having your rig modified. One skydiver I know had his rig converted into a left throwaway deployment and his reserve handle also cutaway his main canopy. Finally, can someone explain to me why it's always the right arm that dislocates?
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A skydiver went in for the pull at normal deployment height. He tried to pull his throwaway pilot chute but it had jammed and would not come out of his leg strap pocket. He continued trying without any luck so elected to carry out his reserve drills. He was under his reserve canopy by approx 1,000 ft or lower.
Conclusions
This jumper tried far to many times to deploy his main pilotchute and left his reserve drills way to late. His pilot chute had been packed badly and when it was explained to him he said he never realised that a pilot chute could be packed badly. He now packs it for an easy deployment.
Recommendations
Give some thought to your emergency drills, if in doubt ask your instructor. If you suddenly experience a difficult pull, make another very positive approach by making sure you grasp the toggle properly and give one very definite and solid effort to deploy. If it fails this second very positive effort then it's not going to deploy so stop trying and carry out your reserve drills. If you don't know how a pilot chute can be packed for an easy deployment as opposed to a stiff deployment then get some advice and make sure you know the difference.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
An experienced jumper did a solo night jump in moonless conditions. Unable to reach the lit landing area he tried to land near other lights on the airfield but overshot and landed in darkness (the airfield was in a remote location). He landed heavily and injured ligaments and tendons.
Conclusions
If you're night jumping for the first time you will be given a full brief before hand. But, you should be aware that accuracy is not as easy as during the day. There is a tendency to flare too high, which especially under a 'hot' canopy can cause injury.
Recommendations
If you find yourself in this position without experience, the advice given by most instructors is do not attempt to flare; instead go onto half brakes and prepare for a PLF: It may not be dignified but who's going to see?
This report was written by Chris Jones
During a funneled exit a jumper realised that his reserve handle was lose and flapping around. He tried to replace it but failed and decided to pull his reserve to prevent further complications.
Conclusions
This jumper blamed the funnel exit and this is quite possible but another more common problem is warn velcro that is supposed to hold the reserve handle secure until it's needed.
Recommendations
Always check your handles prior to exit, I always run my fingers down both sides of the velcro to make sure it's compressed and secure, and make sure you do a regular inspection for warn velcro on a regular basis. The job of replacing the velcro is down to the rigger when the rig is in for a six monthly service but this is one area that often gets neglected.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
This month I have had reports of skydivers hitting objects on landing and they all seem very easy to avoid in large spacious areas. One jumper hit a fence, one jumper hit a telegraph pole,one jumper hit the wind sock and one landed on a roof.
Conclusions
The information available on these reports was very vague but all of them seem to have been down to forgetting the basics of canopy control.
Recommendations
One of the first rules of canopy control is to locate the drop zone, during this initial phase you should always plan to land in a safe area away from any obstacle. During your descent, you must continue to monitor where you will land, if the last phase of your approach becomes a problem with regards to obstacle then it's always better to accept an off heading landing rather than hit an object.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
Three reports have been received about CRW wraps from three different drop zones. All reported good reserve drills and safe landings.
Conclusions
The cause of the wraps were not mentioned but it's good to see that the training reference cutaways is up to scratch.
Recommendations
Be careful! On a serious note though, when writing up reports it would be nice to have an opinion of what caused the wrap, I'm sure every jumper voices his own opinion when in the bar.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
Two helmets made their way to earth leaving the owners without head protection, both landed without causing injury to others.
Conclusions
One came off after opening when the jumper was reaching up to clear twists and one left the aircraft by itself when the jumpmaster opened the door of the aircraft.
Recommendations
Lose items can cause severe damage, both in the aircraft and when landing, make sure that your equipment is secure at all times.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
During a skydiving holiday abroad, a skydiver deployed his parachute and checked his altitude and the spot. He was at two thousand feet when he noticed the drop zone approx two miles away. He looked for an alternative landing area which was very difficult because he was over a very conjested built up area. He planned on landing in the only green field he could see and set up for that location. At approx five hundred feet he noticed that the landing area was full of obstacles that were not noticeable earlier. His only option was to land on the road amongst the traffic. He landed his 110 sq ft canopy in between two cars traveling in the same direction as his landing approach. As he landed he ran off the road trying to land his canopy on the path away from the traffic.
Conclusions
This skydiver escaped injury because of his skills and a lot of luck. However, a bit of fore thought could have prevented the situation in the first place. The drop zone is well known for its unpredictable wind conditions and bad spots. In particular, the first spot of the day. The drop zone does not allow skydivers to spot but rely on GPS spotting by the pilot. The skydiver was at a disadvantage right from the beginning by jumping such a small canopy which when opens descends quickly and when landing requires a long landing strip.
Recommendations
When jumping at a new location don't rush into jumping, especially if an off landing is going to be problematic. Avoid the first jump of the day, let the pilot get the spot right before you jump. study the surrounding area for any suitable off landings. When in freefall look down and check your spot, if it's bad don't do a low opening and if safe to do so open higher than normal. It makes sense to plan for higher openings and letting the jumpmaster know until you've become accustomed to the area. Learn to use your brakes, rear and front risers to give you the best performance of recovering from a bad spot. Know how to use the landscape to gain lift and learn how to land in difficult areas and possible off heading landings so you're prepared for such a situation. The smaller the canopy you jump the more switched on you have to be and the more you need to be able to predict the consequences of your actions. Always assume that you will get an off landing so you can give some though to your actions when it happens.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A group of formation skydivers completed their skydive and deployed at the correct height. Almost immediately one jumper noticed a canopy on a collision course, he reacted quickly and turned his canopy away in a rapid maneuver and collided with a third canopy. They became entangled and the pair of them went into a radical spin. One jumper cutaway , with some difficulty caused by the radical spin, and deployed her reserve and landed without further incident. The second jumper, eventually, managed to clear himself from the entanglement and deployed his reserve parachute approx two hundred feet from impact. He landed safely with his brakes still attached.
Conclusions
There are a lot of opinions in these reports that conflict; for example, one jumper said that if the other jumper had done the correct emergency drill of turning right then the initial collision would've been avoided and the second one, another jumper said that if he had turned right he would have hit the first canopy, another jumper said he turned into me while looking away. After the initial disagreements they all discussed what the best thing would have been to do and agreed on future actions and all came away from this incident with a realisation that they all should have been more aware of how to avoid canopy collisions.
Recommendations
The first rule is very simple, if you're aware of a potential problem then it's fairly easy to plan your skydives to make sure this incident doesn't happen. When tracking away, you have two jobs, firstly to move as far away as you can from other canopies, therefore, practicing your tracking with the realisation that it's not just part of a skydive, it's a survival skill that you have to master. Secondly, while tracking away you should always be aware of the other skydivers and the direction that they are tracking in, all round observation prior to deploying is as important as all round observation after deployment. Those with high performance canopies need to be even more switched on, the closing speed of two high performance canopies can be as much as 90mph. Finally, and I've said this many times pack your canopy so you don't get off heading openings. Don't just accept off heading openings as being part of the sport because they are preventable and packing is also a survival skill that has to be mastered, unfortunately, this is not always the case.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A display team jumped from 2,000ft, just below cloud base. The last man deployed deployed and en counted a malfunction. He cutaway and deployed his reserve parachute. He checked his canopy then realised that he may not be able to reach the arena. He decided to land in a field close by and landed without further incident.
Conclusions
The display jumper made the right decision because if he had tried to land in the arena and not made it, the only landing area left was the rather large crowd. This became a display incident but because of the jumpers decision it never be came an injury report.
Recommendations
When taking part in parachute displays the pressure to get into the display arena is great but you must always remember that it's about safety first. It's better to live with the embarrassment of a display miss than end up in the crowd and cause a major incident. In general, if you have any doubts about being able to land in the arena then don't even try.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A jumper landed of the drop zone, safely, in a field full of sheep. As she gathered in her canopy she was kicked by a sheep with such force that she was knocked to the ground with broken ribs and a ruptured bowel.
Conclusions & Recommendations
Ok, I'm out of my depth here, this one is for a farmer to analys, all I know is that sheep, cows and horses always head towards me when I land in their back yard and I always run away. All I can say is just be aware of the possibilities.
This report was written by Allan Hewitt
A 4 way training dive took place on a warm summer afternoon. There were scattered clouds at around 6,000ft, otherwise, visibility was fine. At between 5,000 and 6,000ft the 4 way group narrowly missed colliding with a soaring glider; separation was estimated to be 30 meters. The glider was recorded on air to air video but was not identified. It was within 300 metres of the drop zone.
The glider should not have been there, but jumpers should be aware that gliders are not required to have radio or navigational facilities. Nearly all gliders operate under Visual Flight Rules, which means they should never enter cloud. Given this, and despite the presence of some cloud at that altitude, it is surprising that it was not seen either by DZ control or the jumpmaster.