My first malfunction I ever had (#842) was the result of a broken rapide link that secures the deployment bag to the bridal. As I deployed, the link broke free - which caused my pilot chute to become obsolete. There was enough force to pull the pin and free the d-bag from the container, however there was not enough force (or no force at all) left to pull the canopy out of the bag. From a first person perspective: I left the formation, tracked away, waived off, pulled my pilot chute out of BOC...and nothing...... I immediately executed emergency procedures and had a one second long entanglement of d-bag, bridal, and foot. The split second entanglement probably occurred because of some instability while executing EPs...or maybe just luck.. I am unsure of this part of the super-cool experience... After my reserve inflated, I noticed my D-bag was hanging at my feet...by my RSL! The velcro on my RSL was holding my entire main system in tow underneath me while I was under my reserve. I do not blame the RSL for this malfunction or the link, I have only myself to blame as I did not inspect the link thoroughly enough/often enough, and if I had, I might have noticed that the link was no longer jump-able at that point in time. I immediately started to draw the d-bag up to my body, as I did not want the main to inflate. (I dropped it underneath me about 1000 feet off the ground (accidentally) and heard/felt the Velcro give way slightly on my RSL side shoulder.) At that moment I realized that if the canopy did come out of the bag, the Velcro would more than likely release the main system and there would be no issues. However, I was more focused on landing a canopy I hadnt tried to land before... What are your thoughts on this unique malfunction? I posted this elsewhere first, here are some responses that I feel should be included so those people do not have to re-respond. ------------------------------------------------------ Zach Lewis -- First of all you did fine. You walked away from a potentially really bad day. The first thing that comes to mind is did you check to see what was going on before you went to your EPs? If the main risers do not come under tension, the 3 rings usually dont really release. They need some tension on them, otherwise even just the riser covers can keep the risers in place (for light forces only). I too would have either tried to hold onto my bag, or get rid of it quickly. Since it was just holding by the RSL, risk of a true 2 out is low, but Id rather have it gone, or under control (given I have altitude to mess with it). My guess is the d ring may not have broken. It may have been improperly installed our routed. In general...metal is strong than fabric, and that shouldnt have been the point of failure. ------------------------------------------------------ Response from me (To Zach Lewis) Zach, I did not look to see what was going on above me before I went to EPs... I did not feel like I had the altitude. My 3,500ft alarm was going off during the initial pitch of my PC - and at that point in the game I knew I was running out of time and really wanted some fabric over my head... I think that the pilot chute had enough umph to get the riser covers un-tucked before it deflated due to the absence of the link. I also believe that there was enough force from the partial deployment flopping around for the 3 rings to release. (I just dont see any other way it could have happened.) ------------------------------------------------------ Response from Jim McGraw: 1. I am not crystal clear what you mean by D-ring. I am guessing that you mean the Rapide link(s) inside the main d-bag. 2. It seems that your management of the malfunction was good. No comment to add. 3. The biggest message in your story for noobs is..... INSPECT YOUR GEAR I have mentioned previously that your rigger is NOT likely inspecting your main canopy system unless you are paying extra for that. Here is a resource to assist noobs learn to inspect their main canopy system. https://youtube/watch?v=da56gEoQrUQ ------------------------------------------------------ My apologies for the awkward formatting of this post-I just wanted to capture those first comments first. Thanks for the read everyone-Remember to check your gear often, it might not be the same way it was last jump - THIS jump.... :p
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 02:09:06 +0000
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