Finger trap !!!!!

[sky-pimp 0]

Self confession

I did a jump last week , great skydive good opening until i released my brakes and pumped them to check my lines
my right hand toggle came off in my hand, canopy was flying correctly and i had time to get the feel of what input i needed to use my rear risers to land with. Landed OK with a little to much input and just staled a little.
Upon inspection of my rig there was no snapped line . what it turned out to be was the brake lines had been finger trapped but not stitched or tied in a Knot to prevent them from coming loose . the right hand line was the same and just pulled apart very easy. that was approx my 20th jump with my brake lines like that . This was a brand new canopy and i was unaware of what i had done.

i was lucky and embarrassed as i like to think i am safety conscious

lessons learned.

YeHaaaaaaaaaaa

[darkwing 4]

Glad you didn't die. Who put your main together for you? This is a good lesson in learning your gear.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[sky-pimp 0]

I put it together , the error is all my own .

the reason i confessed my mistake was to make anyone who could be in the same situation to think about it and CHECK ......

YeHaaaaaaaaaaa

[Remster 24]

Quote

I put it together , the error is all my own .

the reason i confessed my mistake was to make anyone who could be in the same situation to think about it and CHECK ......

At the very least, ALWAYS knot it...

Remster

[upndownshop 0]

My X had the same problem, she chose to chop it, which I am glad, she is not the best with canopy control. Her rigger Suzie still denies doing it. Ultimately it is the jumpers responsibility but for a rigger not to accept it was irritating. But all is well now, they are rommates and neither jumps so at least they are safe.

So glad it didnt happen on landing for both of you.

[kenneth21441 0]

I must comend you for fessing up to your experience. Lesson learned.

For reference check the manual that comes with your system as these manuals give alot of great information for someone that is doing this. Then of course I would songly suggest that you do take it to a rigger to look it over to make sure that all is well. But I do like someone that takes the time to try to do it themselves. Just have a double check next time.... to be sure.... Always.//

Just my two cents on this area.....

Kenneth Potter
FAA Senior Parachute Rigger
Tactical Delivery Instructor (Jeddah, KSA)
FFL Gunsmith

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

SP,

Good on you for fessing up to your mistake and sharing this informaiton.

Et all... this is not the first time I've seen this failure mode during my time in the sport; where an apparently "properly" hooked up toggle really is not. My 2 cents / what I do even with a brand new canopy ... is hang it up and insepct it... look in every cell... look at each and every attach point on the cnaopy... look at each and every casscade and make sure ALL the bar-tacks that should be there are there. Personally, if the brake lines aren't factory set, I tie them in a knot & finger trap the excess rather then just finger trapping them and stitcing them... in case you ever want to retie them for what ever reason.

[billeisele 122]

good lesson for all, i saw a main where the fingertraps on the suspension lines were not sewn, the owner jumped it twice, on the second jump i noticed the strange shape, some of them had come apart

always check your gear

Give one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws.

[popsjumper 2]

Thanks!

Good post and a good learning tool for others.
Excellent.

Brings home the point of good gear checks and maintenance.


Someone mentioned earlier having a rigger check your work...great idea. My rigger is probably giving me that exasperated look behind my back (j/k, guys) because I always have him double-check anything I've done to my system.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[tonka 2]

Scary.

Glad your all right...that could have been really bad on landing.

I know a jumper with 8000 jumps who swoops every landing and had this happen to him after a jump. He had a cheap knot tied and it came undone as we were riding back to the hanger from the landing area. Came right undone and off came the toggle....spooked him pretty good because he knew the consequences of that happening during a landing.

Anywyays everyone was all right and lived to drink a beer and tell the tale.

The jumper that happened to always tells everyone-
"Check your gear, check your gear, check your gear!"

Goes to show that even the most cautious can overlook something.

So-
"Check your gear, check your gear, check your gear!"

[gearless_chris 1]

I did the same thing with my Nitron when it was new. Right side came off when I released the brakes. Finger trapped it back on , got distracted, forgot to tie or sew it, 30 or so jumps later came off again, went to rigger and had them sewn. Ooops.

"If it wasn't easy stupid people couldn't do it", Duane.

My momma said I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so I became an a$$hole.

[kingbunky 3]

no-sew finger trap. simple to do with a home-made fid, leaves your brake lines with no knots, like a sewn trap, but it can be undone with a little patience.

works great for me, your mileage may vary, i'm not a rigger, blah, blah, blah.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001