My take on this, without getting into the gear issue, as adjustable laterals can loosen up and student gear is "one-size-fits-no-one".\ Then there is also the "2 tries, go directly to silver" that the student ignored. But... If this was an AFFI, 1. bad exit, took 10 seconds to get into position for the student to dock. 2. Pulled with the wrong hand while apparently holding the students arm grip. There seemed ample oportunity to get that harness grip. The reason a coach shouldn't do this, beyond just "he doesn't have the rating", is just the way this was done. There is a reason you should pull with the right hand while holding a harness grip at the hip with your left hand. What if the student got totally floaty right then? With the arm grip, he would have been pulled head low, pulled on to his right side, or even inverted. With the hesitation seen in the video, worst case the pilot chute might have actually gone under the "coach". Good time had by all. With a harness grip at the hip, you can keep the hips low. Plus, when there is a pilot chute delay, like this, you maintain full control over the student in a position to assist. Can't necessarily do that holding an arm grip. To be honest, this actually looked more like a coach deployment than an AFFI. Thankfully, just fodder for a discussion.
(This post was edited by ufk22 on Feb 22, 2012, 8:58 AM)
