After deploying his main canopy, this skydiver released his brakes and the right brake line locked up. He realized that the only way for his canopy to fly level was to pull the left toggle down to three-quarter brakes and decided that he would attempt to land that way. At 1,000 ft. (approx. 300 meters) above the ground, he realized that he didn’t have the strength to continue flying in brakes and decided to cutaway (yes, we’re also cringing). Thankfully, without an RSL or Skyhook, his reserve opened quickly at about 500 ft. (approx. 150 meters) and he landed safely.
This jumper should not have put himself in a situation where muscle failure was forcing him to cutaway at 1,000 feet. He knew this canopy was not flyable thousands of feet earlier and disregarded basic safety precautions.
There are a lot of reasons why that right brake line could have locked up, but without a different view or more information, we’re making some educated guesses. Two different riggers viewed this video and believe that there was a step through and/or a tension knot. Both are typically due to packing error.
This jumper should have chopped thousands of feet earlier. Had he relied on the basics taught in AFF he would have gotten rid of his main at a safe altitude and not risked potentially catastrophic results from cutting away at such a low altitude.
As is the case with a large portion of malfunctions, this incident could have likely been prevented through the avoidance of complacency. When packing it is important to take your time, not rush, and go through every step slowly and diligently.
We want to reiterate that this jumper put himself into a precarious situation by not cutting away earlier. This reserve opened quickly and perfectly – the rigger who packed it is certainly owed a thank you gift – but had it not, a myriad of situations could have occurred:
This skydiver was doing a hop 'n pop from 4,000 ft. (approx. 1200 meters) in shorts and a t-shirt. He didn’t realize that he had a pullup cord in his pocket and believes that – upon deployment – that cord came out, went into the canopy, passed through the slider grommet and locked the slider. He successfully got it out at around 2,300 ft. (approx. 700 meters). Notably this was only 150 ft (approx. 50 meters) above his decision altitude for cutting away.
He was jumping in shorts and a t-shirt; some may say this jumper should have dressed for success and been wearing a jumpsuit. We don’t really think that’s a big deal as long as an individual knows what they’re jumping in and knows how it can affect their jump. In this case, however, jumping with unsecured pockets that had something in them led to this incident -- a very rare incident that none of us would really consider or think about.
The chances that a pullup cord would slip out of a pocket, fly up into a deploying canopy and perfectly go through the grommet are insane. But, evidently, it happened to this guy!
Most people only think about items like their three rings, pins, altimeters, etc., as part of their gear checks. But what you’re wearing is an important factor to consider as well. A lot of jumpers take it for granted, but something as simple as checking to make sure you emptied your non-zipper pockets or tied your shoes tightly can randomly turn into something bigger (those choo-lace malfunctions are scary).
One thing we really liked about this video is how the jumper is constantly looking around while he is fighting to get that slider down. Early on you see him find the other canopy and turn away from it. Then you see him repeatedly look down in what we’re assuming was a series of altitude checks. Many jumpers get tunnel vision during a situation like this and forget about maintaining awareness but this guy looks like he did a pretty good job on that note.
A 50-jump wonder who spent too much time watching YouTube (his words, not ours!) decided to try and huck a Mr. Bill out of a King Air. The bridle went around a neck and an arm, a chest strap caught a chin resulting in a deep cut, shoes were lost on a terminal opening, and – because they were jumping in cold weather – the jumper who opened high landed five miles off with frozen hands.
As this jumper himself pointed out,
“I was very naïve (and)… watched too much YouTube of Mr. Bills.”
Unfortunately, many newer jumpers look back at the videos they watched before they started jumping and want to try all that really cool stuff.
When jumpers are starting out, many simply don’t know that they really don’t know anything! To many, that brand-new A or B license gives them a sensation like they’ve conquered the world. Some think of it as a ticket to trying all sorts of awesome jumps that they don’t realize they’re not ready for.
This point is mainly about the fact that this person wasn’t wearing gloves during a cold weather jump. This individual noted that “It was Halloween in Canada (so cold as Hell)” but – for some unknown reason – they didn’t think to protect their hands.
These guys should probably have not been allowed to attempt this jump. More experienced hands, whether they were fellow jumpers or staff members at the DZ, should have stopped it from being attempted. That being said, it's possible these jumpers didn’t tell anyone their plan.
YouTube is not a coach. If you want to try something you saw online, find someone with a ton of experience and ask how to do it safely. If they don’t know, hopefully they can point you in the direction of someone who can help you out. Also, this gives folks a chance to provide the aforementioned oversight and tell you if a jump is unsafe at your experience level.
Gloves significantly reduce tactile sensation and dexterity but cold air can do the same and a lot worse. On a cold enough jump, it’s possible to catch pretty serious frost bite and completely lose the use of your extremities. Before jumping in frigid temperatures, jumpers should find a set of gloves that will protect them from the elements but still provide the ability to deploy their main, follow emergency procedures, and fly/flare their canopy safely. The same thing goes for socks and shoes which will keep your feet warm enough so that you can safely run out a landing.
This is a pretty terrifying malfunction that you don't see every day! A skydiver's B12 style leg strap was accidentally grabbed and unclipped in freefall. Ummm.... $#!@%. She didn’t realize what was going on until just before she deployed, but thankfully she was able to stay in the harness, and then – with some difficulties - got her leg strap back on while she was under canopy and landed safely.
The jumper noted that “My leg straps aren’t as tight as they need to be (even though it’s the tightest they would go on this rig).” In other words, this rig was too big for her.
Based on their skill level, these jumpers were probably somewhat newer to the sport and, in their excitement at getting a dock, the second jumper grabbed right onto that leg strap clip.
Skydiving gear needs to fit properly and be in proper working order to avoid incidents like this. Had this jumper’s leg straps been properly sized, it is unlikely that the clip would have come undone in this manner.
The jumper’s friend at one point goes to grab onto her for a dock but his hand accidentally grabs onto her B12 clip instead. Jumpers should be aware of what they’re grabbing when flying with one another and need to make sure that they don’t accidentally grab handles or, in this case, clips.
This is one of the scarier Friday Freakout video submissions we’ve seen considering how badly this could've ended, but just to reiterate, this jumper landed safely.
If you incorrectly connect your RDS on a high performance canopy (PD Valkyrie 75), you can expect to be spun around like a washing machine. This jumper attempted to pull down the whole right side to slow it down and see what the issue was, but — knowing it was eating up altitude very quickly — decided he needed to cut away. His Skyhook opened his reserve (PD-126) into several line twists that he was able to clear.
This jumper noted that the spinning malfunction was the result of hooking up his RDS slider incorrectly on the left side.
This jumper noted that he should have taken an extra five seconds to check his RDS slider twice before packing his canopy. This is very good advice that every jumper on a high-performance canopy should take into consideration. ALL jumpers, however, should take their time packing, not rush, and make sure to go through every step patiently and safely.
We happen to know this DZ and this was NOT the case here, but at a lot of dropzones video staff are the most overworked individuals in the operation. They’re often trying to pack multiple canopies, while also editing film, trying to interview the next customer, use the bathroom, chug some water, and eat lunch. It can be very easy to rush a pack job and slip up on something small that becomes a much bigger issue in the air. DZO’s and DZM’s should be aware of how their videographers are doing on a busy day and ensure that they have enough time to prioritize safety. On that same note, video staff should communicate with management and tell them if they’re being forced to rush to the plane. There's an important balance that needs to be struck that keeps the DZ and the videographers making money but also keeps everyone safe.
This jumper did a lot of things right. Most importantly, he didn't screw around very long with a diving malfunction before deciding to chop. Because of this fast - and, in our opinion, correct - choice, he had plenty of altitude with which to address the line twists on his reserve. He also did a pretty good job keeping calm and getting the line twists undone efficiently and effectively. We see a lot of similar videos and this jumper demonstrated a lot of good decision making. Kudos.
This skydiver got slammed by a hard opening, which resulted in some broken lines on the main canopy followed by a cutaway. Initially, they thought it may have been a toggle fire and tried to control the canopy with rear risers before trying to unstow the brakes. When they took a moment to do a canopy check they realized they had multiple broken lines and what they thought was a possible line-over. Chop chop.
As is clearly visible in this video, the opening shock on this deployment was strong and could have exacerbated other issues like the ones noted below.
This jumper noted that four lines were snapped at the attachment points in addition to the left side control line. They believe they could have been worn out.
This jumper also noted that a few burns were found on the lines and that a line-over could have been responsible.
Jumpers need to keep track of how many jumps they have on their lines and should replace them in accordance with manufacturer guidelines or if they begin showing excessive wear.
This is also why it’s incredibly important to be honest regarding how many jumps are on a canopy when it’s being sold; lying about wear and tear to get a few extra dollars can put someone in a dangerous situation.
This issue arises with a lot of malfunctions and it needs to be reiterated regularly: jumpers need to take their time packing and make sure they’re doing it right. They should avoid distractions and not rush their pack jobs in order to get on a load. It’s very easy to get complacent while packing but it’s a critical step in avoiding issues like line overs and hard openings.
During a practice attempt for the 12-way nude skydiving world record, this group went through a cloud, forgot about their original plan for break-off, tracked poorly and came very close to a serious mid-air collision on opening.
At one point on break-off. we see a jumper switch grips in order to slap another guy’s ass before they start tracking away. The move delayed the break-off and probably disoriented the jumpers as to the direction they should have been tracking in.
Going through two layers of clouds, and starting to track while in clouds, disoriented the jumpers and made it harder to track away from each another properly.
These jumpers all allegedly had around 400 jumps, but the jumper whose footage we’re watching did a terrible job tracking. He appears to have been barely moving, only tracked for about 4 seconds, and didn’t scan around to see the location of other jumpers.
A lot of inexperienced jumpers don’t understand why jumping through clouds can be so dangerous other than the obvious factor that you can’t check to ensure that there are no aircraft below you. This video serves to demonstrate how disorientating limited visibility can be and how the ensuing confusion can result in very dangerous situations.
Slapping your buddy’s ass in the middle of a naked jump is hilarious but when it screws up the agreed upon break-off plan, it stops being funny. Every jump, even fun ones, needs to be taken seriously.
It’s a cliché line but it’s true. Every jumper needs to be capable of properly tracking both in terms of covering distance well and remaining situationally aware regarding where the location of other jumpers in the group.
We don't know if these guys had experience doing naked jumps but one thing that a lot of folks don't realize is that the lack of a jumpsuit can make body flight, including tracking, a lot harder. Unless everyone on a jump like this is pretty experienced and knowledgeable about factors like that, it's probably not a great idea to have this large of a group. It may have played a role in why the tracking was a bit weak.
This incident of a skydiver hitting a parked truck in the middle of the desert is a cringe-worthy example of target fixation, which resulted in four broken vertebrae, a broken rib, a dislocated hip and a sprained wrist. He will make a full recovery, and he shared this video "in the hopes that other jumpers can benefit from these lessons in a pain free way."
On final this jumper decided that, rather than land away from other jumpers and walk back, he would land by the retrieval truck. As he came in, he felt a slight crosswind pushing him towards the vehicle and started looking at it. Predictably, he slammed into the side of the truck.
When jumpers see an object that they really want to avoid, they often keep staring at it… and don’t realize that their bodies are directing their canopies straight towards the obstacle they should be avoiding. The jumper i this incident admitted that target fixation got the best of him.
This jumper was jumping on the last day of a boogie and admits that he was “tired, hungry, thirsty, full of adrenaline and generally over-confident.” After partying and jumping for a few days, many skydivers simply aren’t mentally fit to jump out of a plane.
There’s nothing wrong with waking up on the Sunday of a big boogie – or any day for that matter – and saying “Naw… I’m not getting on a plane today.” (This author has a general rule that the Sunday of a boogie is a day of rest and mimosas.) Many jumpers feel that if they’re at a dropzone they MUST jump, but that can be a recipe for disaster.
As this jumper noted, “I never should have attempted to land near that truck. By choosing to land near an obstacle, I went from having very wide margins of error to almost no margin for error.” His choice to cut his walk time down by landing near the vehicle placed him in a precarious position where he had few options.
The jumper noted in his submission that he suffered a broken rib, four broken vertebrae, a sprained wrist, dislocated hip, and superficial bruises and cuts. He also said that it’s very likely that the jumpers who immobilized him and stabilized his head prevented him from becoming paralyzed. He was fortunate that there were several medical professionals on his load. They knew that keeping a patient with a possible spinal cord injury from moving around can help prevent further harm. It’s an important concept that jumpers should be aware of when assisting a fellow skydiver who's had a hard landing.
This swooper appears to have rolled out a teensy bit high... and slammed into the top of a barbed wire fence. Maybe it was “a weird wind,” but it looks like they flight cycled their canopy and came straight down. No bueno.
This jumper looks like they may have been trying to swoop the spectators, and may have not quite had the skill level to ensure they were able to do so safely (just speculation, but worth mentioning as a potential factor in this incident).
It looks like this person rolled out high and tried to go for it anyway, not realizing that going through their full flight cycle would leave them dropping like a brick. They were so dedicated to what they wanted to do that they lost perspective about whether it was feasible.
When this jumper rolled out high they should have just given up the swoop and gone for a safe boring landing somewhere safer. (There was a big ole’ friendly field off to the side that they could have used as an alternative.)
Swooping crowds, buildings, and objects in general can be pretty dangerous. There have been many notable incidents where both jumpers and spectators have been seriously injured from this type of attempt. Unless you’re a talented canopy pilot with considerable experience, you probably shouldn’t be messing around with this.
