After deploying his main canopy, this skydiver got spun up into a messy situation with an aggressively diving canopy. Realizing he was unlikely to recover control, he cutaway within seconds and went to his reserve. The reserve opened quickly but had a fair amount of line twists and a dive of its own. Unfortunately the camera froze up and stopped recording moments later – arguably one of the best "features" of the GoPro 7 – but he says he cleared the reserve line twists by 700 feet off the ground. A “never give-up” scenario for sure!
This jumper noted that this was a brand new main with only 20-ish jumps, but that this was also his second cutaway on that canopy. With a new canopy this could certainly be a factor. However, when downsizing, a jumper can also move onto a more aggressive wingloading at which the canopy becomes more sensitive.
If this was not an equipment issue, this may have been user-error. As the jumper noted, it was a new canopy which he had already previously cutaway within the first 20 jumps. A new canopy is typically purchased because the jumper is downsizing or moving to a more aggressive canopy. Many jumpers do not realize how much more meticulous they may have to be regarding their openings when going through this transition. On an aggressive wing that is loaded heavier, minor issues can quickly turn into this type of malfunction.
Some jumpers may argue that this individual should not have chopped as quickly as he did. However, it was very unlikely that he was going to get out of that malfunction. By chopping early, he maximized how much time he had to fix issues with his reserve. The USPA noted in its 2019 “Don’t Delay; Cut Away” campaign that “Skydivers under spinning, diving canopies must stop looking up at their line twists and assuming they are something they can easily fix.” This jumper probably did the right thing by chopping fast.
An aggressively diving malfunction such as this one is likely to create line twists in the reserve because the jumper’s body is still rotating as the reserve deploys. Some jumpers use this type of scenario as an argument against MARD’s and RSL’s because they believe it is better to take a second (or longer) and get stable before deploying a reserve. However, diving malfunctions like this tend to eat up altitude a LOT faster than jumpers realize and can result in a reserve deployment below a safe altitude. Ultimately, it is better to have a fully inflated reserve like this one than have nothing over your head at a dangerously low altitude.
This skydiver yanked on his left toggle to do a 270° turn without visually clearing the airspace around him, which resulted in a scary canopy collision and wrap with the lower canopy. The mess was bad enough that the jumper decided to cutaway his main quite low; fortunately the reserve inflated quickly and the only injury was some line burn on the lower jumper’s arm.
A few very fundamental canopy flight rules should be drilled into a student’s head by the time they graduate AFF. Two of them are “Always look before you turn” and “The lower jumper has the right of way.” This jumper failed to look before he turned and was unaware that a lower jumper was there.
At some dropzones, this is a rule – the violation of which can get a person grounded. This scenario explains precisely why that’s the case.
Spiraling down is a dangerous practice for multiple reasons. First, it’s harder to track what is going on around you when you pick up speed and start spinning. Second, it makes it harder for everyone around you to predict your behavior. Other canopy pilots – especially those who may have a more aggressive canopy or a higher wingload – need to be able to anticipate where you are going.
This jumper doesn’t appear to try and look left or to the airspace below him before initiating this turn. However, it should be noted that it’s still highly possible that the other jumper would not have been visible because – to check the airspace he was going to be in after a 270° turn – he would have had to look to his right side as well. (A 90° turn to the left puts you flying to the left of your original line of flight, a 180° puts you flying in the opposite direction, a 270° puts you flying to the right of it.) That is why it’s crucial to maintain awareness of the other canopies in the air.
This chop had to happen low because the individual put himself into a situation where it was arguably the only option. Fortunately, this jumper was obviously using a MARD system that got his reserve out for him almost instantly. This video underscores why having a MARD can make a massive difference in terms of survivability – especially at lower altitudes.
These skydivers did a chill horny gorilla exit that was going pretty well... until it wasn’t. Once the back of their containers were exposed to the relative wind, one of the jumper's had a premature opening. As the pilot chute goes screaming past his head, he realized what was happening and quickly tried to clear the bridle. Either due to his efforts, or just naturally, the bridle slipped out from under his arm and the main canopy inflated without any issues.
This container looks freefly-friendly. So, the most likely cause of this incident is the pilot chute catching the relative wind. Direct exposure of the container to the relative wind during a horny gorilla like this one creates a lot of drag on any exposed surface of the pilot chute. And that small amount of exposure – which may not cause a premature deployment during a belly jump – can more easily cause one during a freefly jump.
In this video, we can’t see how the jumpers exited the plane and whether there was some incidental contact between the container and the aircraft. However, that is a very common way for a pilot chute to get dislodged just enough for the wind to then deploy it during a skydive.
On the ground, in the plane, and before exit: check your gear and have a buddy check it as well. Reaching behind to touch your BOC and see if your pilot chute is seated properly is NOT the same as having a friend look and make sure there’s no fabric peeking out that could catch the wind. The same goes for having someone check to make sure the elastic on your BOC is tight enough to prevent the pilot chute from getting dislodged.
Again, we can’t see anything in this video that suggests contact with the plane. However, it’s a common cause of this type of situation. We would be remiss to not consider it and note that – by rotating their container away from the doorframe and protecting it from incidental contact – jumpers can avoid bumping their BOC and accidentally dislodging their pilot chute.
A few seconds after exiting, this skydiver felt something hitting his leg — it was his main canopy in the d-bag! He knew his pilot chute was still in the BOC and realized he had a horseshoe malfunction, so he tried throwing his pilot chute but it wrapped around his leg. He kept attempting to clear the pilot chute — even removing his shoe to see if it would help — until his audible altimeter told him he was at 5,000 ft. He then went through his emergency procedures by cutting away and pulling his reserve. Fortunately, there was no entanglement between main and reserve and he was under canopy by 3,000 ft.
A horseshoe malfunction (and losing a shoe) makes for a very "exciting" 187th jump. Great job on keeping calm, trying to clear the wrap and following emergency procedures. Well done.
Everything that we see in this video is secondary to the fact that this jumper's main pin became dislodged. He noted that he believes it may have happened upon exit; he may have bumped up against the door of the aircraft.
The biggest takeaway here is to protect your pin, flaps and handles. Before you get on the plane, during the climb to altitude, and then immediately before and during exit, it's critical that jumpers remain aware that they're not rubbing their container against anything that could snag a handle or pop a pin.
The jumper said he did his gear checks on the ground and checked himself immediately before exit, including touching his main pin with his hand. However, he didn't get a buddy check in the plane. As such, it's possible he may not have realized that the pin had been bumped and become unseated while he was moving around. Having another jumper visually inspect his container may have prevented this incident.
When fully seated, a closing pin should have enough tension on it to prevent it from being easily dislodged. This issue combines a variety of factors: closing loop length, pack job density, proper container-to-canopy sizing, etc. This is something that should be taken into consideration every time a canopy is packed. If that closing pin slides around very easily because there's not enough tension, one of those aforementioned factors needs to be corrected.
One thing that immediately stood out to us was how the jumper never checks a visual altimeter. However, he was obviously aware of his altitude given that he fought the malfunction down to his pull altitude and then executed his emergency procedures promptly enough to be under canopy by around 3,000 feet. The jumper noted that he uses two audible altimeters and relied on them. However, there is a debate about whether relying on two audibles and not checking a visual is an acceptable practice.
This jumper did an excellent job remaining calm. The fact that he took the time to think "Hm... maybe I should try ditching my shoe..." was awesome. By remaining calm, thinking the incident through, and knowing to listen for his audible to go off, he did a good job maximizing the chances that he would walk away from this incident.
This jumper was exiting from an antenna with multiple cables running off it. While he managed to exit and (barely) not clip one of the cables, his body turned. An on-heading opening kept him from turning into the antenna but, finding himself in a precarious situation, he decided to do the worst thing he could think of: turn low and not finish his flare. He (probably) got lucky that there was a bush in his way that cushioned his landing and prevented an injury.
The jumper looks pretty nervous and it’s likely that either nerves or inexperience resulted in his body position turning before deployment. Fortunately, he was still able to avoid the cables running off the antenna and his body position only rotated approximately ninety degrees.
One highly experienced BASE jumper who reviewed this video noted that it appears that this jumper didn’t really have a plan in place for when he didn’t have a perfect deployment. "Preplanning every outcome is the plan in BASE. It rarely goes well when you’re inventing it as you go. BASE jumpers always think they will rise to the occasion. What we know is that we rise to our level of training."
This skydiver, with around 250 jumps, was working on head-down exits and flying in different head-down styles. He was flying solo, wasn’t checking his altimeter, couldn’t hear his audible, and – as a result – opened dirty low. So low that his AAD fired and gave him a two-out, which he promptly chopped so that he could land safely on his reserve.
This jumper was having a blast on this jump and that made him forget about the fact that he should keep track of his altitude. That issue, combined with the fact that he was relying on his audible, led to this incident.
It’s been said a million times, but an audible is typically a back-up device and should not be relied on as a jumper’s primary altimeter. This jumper ran into issues because he wasn’t checking a visual altimeter, couldn’t hear his audible, and by - the time he used his eyes - the ground was rushing up at him.
This jumper had recently started wearing earplugs and never checked to see if he would be able to hear his audible through them at the volume settings he was using. When you make changes to your gear you should check to make sure those alterations won’t affect the usability of that equipment.
A lot of dropzones get nervous about folks who start working on head-up or head-down skydiving solo and this video demonstrates one of the reasons why. In addition to not having a reference to know if you’re drifting up or down jump run, jumping solo takes away the visual cue of your buddy breaking off and letting you know that it’s time to pull.
Some folks may question whether the jumper needed to chop their main but hey, he landed safely without any issues. He did what he thought he had to do to ensure a safe landing -- we're not going to play armchair quarterback here.
This skydiver had a sketchy off-DZ landing into a small residential backyard surrounded by fences and trees, which was a little more excitement than he was hoping for with only 230 jumps under his belt. So, what happened? This jumper was at a dropzone where there are assigned jumpmasters who check the spot and approve the exit location. Trusting the jumpmaster, he and his buddy didn't check the spot and exited as directed.
Once under canopy, the jumper realized how far he was from the dropzone and that he was flying into the wind. From 3,000 ft to 2,400 ft,, he kept trying to figure out if he could get to the DZ. At 2,400 ft he picked an off-landing site, but at 1,800 ft realized he couldn't make it and chose somewhere else. At 900 ft he realized he wasn't going to make his second choice and he was forced to make a last second attempt to land in residential backyard (let's call it a small garden).
He had a rough landing due to an early flare, but he just sprained his ankle. Whew!
The jumper was fixated on the dropzone and really wanted to land there. As a result, he ignored how much push he was getting from the wind and made a few bad decisions as he got lower and lower. This fixation was so strong that it also made him forget his landing priorities.
The individual said, “the jumpmaster misread the wind by about 180 degrees” and that there was “some miscommunication with the pilot” resulting in the “airplane flying downwind relative to the landing area and quite far away from it.” If that’s the case, it sounds like two experienced individuals both made a mistake when they checked the winds.
The jumper didn’t check the spot and must not have known the winds aloft because – if he did – he should have said something about getting out in a spot on the wrong end of the dropzone.
This jumper admits that he was focused on getting to the dropzone and landing into the wind. Effectively, he prioritized the fourth landing priority (land into the wind) ahead of the second landing priority (land in a clear area)! He would have been far safer turning around, aiming his canopy at the massive open fields behind him and sliding in a downwind landing.
Before you get on the plane, you should check the winds aloft to have an idea about how strong the push is going to be.
Before you get out of the plane, you should check the spot – never trust someone else.
Combine your knowledge of the winds with the spot you’re looking at and think about where you’re getting out. Ask yourself a few questions. Are you on a huge canopy? Is getting out going to result in you getting pushed so hard that it’s impossible to get back to the dropzone?
One additional possibility is that the winds shifted while these jumpers were in the air – some dropzone locations are notorious for this. Given that both the pilot and an experienced jumpmaster evidently didn’t realize how strong the push was, we think there’s a possibility that this may have been the case here.
This was a two-stage 8 way hybrid that was seemingly going well, but it exploded on the second stage just before break-off. Most of the jumpers did a decent job tracking off but when this jumper deployed, they see their buddy plummet past them at a dangerously close proximity. Fortunately, there was no impact, and the jumper was able to fly his canopy away from the other jumper.
The jumper whose POV we're viewing told us that he didn't realize one of the other jumpers had tracked above him. This opens a big can of worms but, ultimately, the lower jumper has the right of way and the individual above him should have altered their track to not be on top of him. Why that didn't happen is conjecture but the most common reason for this type of incident is that the higher jumper was simply not paying attention to what was below him.
Obviously, had the higher jumper paid closer attention to what was occurring below him, they could have just adjusted their vector to get away from the jumper below. Being above someone during breakoff is a bad idea given that - if they deploy suddenly - you could end up eating their canopy and impacting at high speed.
The jumper whose POV we're viewing didn't check their airspace. That's an issue because, while he was able to see where 5 jumpers went after breakoff, there were 2 jumpers whose positions he did not know. This group wasn't THAT big, and everyone was on level at breakoff, so knowing where everyone went shouldn't be that hard.
The reason that we are taught to wave off is so that, should someone accidentally be right above us, they know that we are about to pitch and potentially deploy a canopy into their face. Admittedly, the jumper above them shouldn't be in that space in the first place, but if they see someone waving off, they at least know that they are in a very dangerous spot and can try to either deploy immediately or get the heck away.
If you happen to be in a situation where you’re tracking away from everyone and see that one of your buddies is directly below you – AND you know for a fact where everyone else went/know that there is no way that someone is above you – pitch right then and there! In that situation, deploying immediately – if you’re already at an appropriate altitude and know for a fact that no one is above you – is a safe move that will immediately create vertical separation between you and the jumper beneath you, as well as give them time to continue tracking away from you to create horizontal separation.
While jumping with an experienced coach, this skydiver had a premature opening in close proximity to the coach as he was fighting an unstable body position to stick his sit fly. The preemie was caused by a loose BOC, but the canopy deployed cleanly -- albeit a little snappy -- and the jumper landed safely.
During a very quick inspection on the ground, a rigger said the spandex in the BOC looked fine. A few weeks later the same coach saw the jumper boarding a plane in a tracking suit and thought their pilot chute was sneaking out of their BOC. He relayed word up the plane and had the jumper perform a gear check. During this gear check, the jumper found their pilot chute almost completely out of their BOC. A closer inspection of his BOC after the second incident confirmed that it was loose.
As a container is used, jumps are going to take their toll. Jumpers are taught to look for certain signs of wear-and-tear but, during ground school, that’s largely limited to major items such as closing loops. However, loose BOC’s are a relatively common factor in premature deployments. It’s an issue that skydivers are not really taught to look for and, unless someone takes the time to tell a jumper to look out for it, it may go unnoticed.
There is no way to tell if, before the jump in this video, the jumper did their gear checks properly. However – while on the plane on the next jump – the coach witnessed this jumper’s pilot chute sneaking out of the BOC. We don’t believe in coincidence, so this suggests that this jumper was performing poor gear checks. The alternative is that they were not aware of their container rubbing against various surfaces (e.g. door frame) and on multiple jumps their pilot chute was dislodged while they were boarding or exiting the plane.
A tangential kudos goes out to the jumper who, when the preemie happened, immediately went to their back and tried to get the hell away from the group. They probably reacted to an emergency by wanting to create distance from the rest of the group; not a bad move. Alternatively, seeing someone deploy may have made them think that they had lost altitude awareness. Either way, they didn’t screw around and made a smart move. Even more impressive however, when they realized that they were not at breakoff yet, that jumper went into a stand to try to get back on level with the rest of the jump. They appear to have wanted to ensure that, when the group hit breakoff altitude, everyone would be on level. Nice work!
