1 Matches (out of a total of 833 incidents)
  1. Date Location Category Age # Jumps AAD?/RSL? Dropzone.com Report Dropzone.com Discussion
    24/10/2004 Mid-America Sport Parachute Club, IL AIR 38 Y/N 70 #1312925
    Description: As the jumper climbed out onto the step of Cessna 206, his bag came out of the container. As the other jumpers tried to indicate what had happened and attempting to indicate for the jumper the cutaway, the parachute wrapped around the right main landing gear strut. The plane went into an inverted nose dive. The other skydivers and the pilot managed to escape from the uncontrollable aircraft, deployed their parachutes and landed relatively safely (it took the pilot 4,000 feet to exit the aircraft, one leg strap clip caught on something as he escaped and it released on deployment but he managed to stay in the harness, suffering some bruising and a possible cervical vertabra fracture).
    Lessons:
    USPA Description: This jumper was part of a planned 3-way formation skydive from a Cessna 206 with a right front door and a step attached over the landing gear. He had been seated next to the pilot and facing rearward. When he climbed out, apparently with his container open, his main bag dropped on the step. The other jumpers began yelling at him to pull his cutaway handle, but the bag quickly dropped between the step and the strut and under the landing gear. The lines came unstowed, and the canopy inflated into the tail of the plane. The jumper was pulled along the same path as the main bag-between the step and strut—as the canopy wrapped around the tail.

    The airplane flipped over and spun out of control. The pilot and remaining jumpers were able to exit the airplane and deploy their parachutes at a safe altitude, but the pilot suffered neck injuries while working to get out of the airplane. The entangled jumper was found dead at the crash site in a bean field below, still attached to the tail by his main canopy. He had been killed from a blunt blow to the head, which possibly occurred as he was pulled around the landing gear.
    USPA Conclusions:One witness commented that the jumper, seated in the Cessna in the so-called student position, appeared to be "laying back on his container quite a bit." As he lay back, he may have dislodged the closing pin of the main container from the closing loop. The container apparently opened without being detected before the jumper began to climb out. USPA receives many reports each year of jumpers who experience premature container openings. Most of them occur while climbing out of the airplane because the closing pin has become dislodged before climbout. A common cause of a premature opening is a loose main closing loop combined with rubbing or bumping the back of the container against some part of the plane before the jumper gets to the door. Both main and reserve closing loops must be tight enough to secure the container against incidental contact with the airplane or in freefall.

    Jumpers should make sure their equipment is ready for the skydive well before they get to the door of the airplane and guard against problems while inside, including dislodged straps, handles and closing pins. Sections 4 and 5 of the Skydiver's Information Manual include a great deal of useful information on equipment checks and maintenance that should be familiar to every licensed skydiver. A final pin check before exit helps ensure that the main and reserve containers are properly closed and ready for use.