| Date | Location | Category | Age | # Jumps | AAD?/RSL? | Dropzone.com Report | Dropzone.com Discussion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/03/2001 | Connersville, IN | MAL,NOP | 24 | 9 | Y/Y | |||
| Description: This was this jumper's 4th 10 second delay during static line progression training. She was observed to go unstable on exit, then quickly regain stability; she went for the BOC throwout at 10 seconds, and then returned to an arch. Ground observers reported she was reaching for her main. She went into a spin at perhaps 500', and disappeared behind the trees. She impacted belly to earth, with her left hand on the reserve handle, though it was still in the velcro. She was unresponsive, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Her FXC (Model 12000) was on, and had been checked both on the ground and in the air. Her reserve pilot chute was found just outside the container, with an intact closing loop. The FXC had fired. She was jumping student gear, a PISA Nara rig with a Skymaster main and Tempo reserve. All handles were found visible, accessible, and easily extractable. Numerous tests of the FXC on the ground after the incidents verified correct firing, and rig inspection confirmed correct installation. | ||||||||
| Lessons:This jumper may have experienced a hard pull, or may otherwise become disoriented at pull time. Observations indicate she may have continued trying to pull the main for some time before only going for her reserve very close to the ground. Training typically recommends trying only a couple times for the main in this type of situation before going directly to the reserve. The reserve pilot chute may have deployed at correct altitude, but stayed in her burble the entire time; jumpers are frequently encouraged to look over their shoulders to clear the pilot chute from the burble. | ||||||||
| USPA Description: This jumper was to make her fourth ten-second freefall in her static-line training progression. After exit, she remained in a stable body position while making several attempts to deploy the hand-deployed pilot chute, mounted on the bottom of her main container (BOC). She made no attempt to deploy the reserve, and she reached the ground with neither the main nor reserve parachute deployed. | ||||||||
| USPA Conclusions:According to the investigator, she had received several gear checks before boarding and exiting the aircraft. Her equipment was found with the reserve pilot chute deployed, but the reserve was still in the container. The AAD had activated and extracted the reserve ripcord pin, but it is not known at what altitude this occurred. The proper response for this jumper should have been to make two attempts at the main deployment handle and then to go for the reserve ripcord. |
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| Name | Charissa Marie Nicely | |||||||