Just when you thought

[JMC 0]

You knew what you were doing

I don't usually post here (I lurk alot) but I thought I would share this.......

We did a 2-way exit which funneled and then when I got stable I noticed my chest strap flapping in the wind. With my arms on my chest strap and looking at it I was on my back but stable. I was able to get it half way on but not completly. I decided to roll back over (6K) and get stable and the chest strap came back off. I waited untill 4K and opened. I put both my arms straight out in front of me so my rig could not come off my shoulders and had a good landing.

The DZs GM talked to me like I should have checked my gear 3 times before I jumped. Every time I get to the DZ I give my rig the onec over. In the plane I grab all my handles at least 3 times. Now I wonder if I have the presense of mind to give my self a gear check. Skydiving can be dangerous and I don't wamt to become an incedent report. I can't wait to get back in the air (Went to the DZ today but nobody was there) but I can't afford anothere mistake like that.

By the way, I have 73 jumps, I thought I knew what I was doing.

[quatorze 1]

I just have one question? Where in the H@&& do you keep your horse shoe, rabbits foot, shamrock and pixie dust when you are in free fall?

I'm not afriad of dying, I'm afraid of never really living- Erin Engle

[mccordia 73]

Quote

Where in the H@&& do you keep your horse shoe

I usualy just pack into my main :)

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[JMC 0]

It must be nailed to my forehead

[aneblett 0]

Glad you are still with us...
The same thing happened to my GF at sometime when she had less than 20 jumps.. before I started jumping even.
This wasn't a case of it not being done up but a case of it undoing itself.
It turned out that on the particular rig that the manufacturer used slightly less thick material than they should have, causing it to sometimes blow open on opening and very rarely on other not so oportune moments(like in FF).
After my GF incident the DZO replaced the cheststrap with thicker, proper spec material and there hasn't been an incident since.
Still makes me cringe to think about it though.

Age

S.E.X. party #2

..It is far worse to live with fear, than to die confronting it.

[quatorze 1]

I am heading to Skydive Coastal this weekend, care to meet me there and let some of that rub off on me?

I'm not afriad of dying, I'm afraid of never really living- Erin Engle

[Kris 0]

Umm, wow! So, pick any lottery numbers lately?

I think we all try to be very thourough with our personal gear-checks. I used to think mis-routing the chest-strap would never happen to me with as much checking as I do and with over 200 jumps I should "know better".

There I was, at Rantoul, getting ready to go on a sit-fly dive. I was waiting for the plane to show up to board it when I gave myself a pre-load check. After I check my three handles I check my three attachment points. The leg-straps were good but when I pulled on my chest-strap it slipped loose. If you could have seen the look on my face...

I'm just glad I caught it on the ground and before I asked someone else for a gear-check. I berated myself quite enough for 5 people as it was.

On the plane I always tug the chest-straps of those on my dive if they are accessible and I scan the straps of everyone on the plane that I can see.

I also do a complete check of both "3's" before jumprun and am sure that I would have caught it... I hope.

We're humans, we're fallible. But in those rare moments where we are not focused enough to notice something on our gear, hopefully someone else will notice it. But, make it a mandatory self-habit to check your "3's" after gearing up, before boarding, and before exit.

Kris

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[quatorze 1]

At my home DZ we have another set of 3's that some one envariable calls to check at approx 9 grand. 3 rings, 3 handles and 3 straps. Just a thought

I'm not afriad of dying, I'm afraid of never really living- Erin Engle

[JMC 0]

3 rings, 3 handles and 3 straps

That's a good way to remember them all. I think I will use it.

[fudd 0]

I think the most dangerous period of skydiving is between 30 and 150 jumps. You think you know what you're doing, and you don't expect to do a mistake. However after 2000 you are still in danger.
If you fasten your chest strap 2000 times, the possibility of doing it wrong one time out of those 2000 is pretty likely to happen. We've all forgotten something once that we thought we couldn't forget.
A cameraman at my dz once forgot his cheststrap once too. He had something like 1500 jumps or so. He noticed when he was tracking and felt his rig sliding off feeling his shoulderstraps down on his hand. He managed to get the rig back on and landed safely.
The moral must be to allways get someone to check your gear, no matter how experienced you are. We're all human.
Glad you're ok. You're probably less likely to make another mistake again, and I bet you check your chest strap at least 10 times before each jump now

[Dazzle 0]

At the Espace boogie recently they were checking the chest straps of everyone as they went to the boarding area.
Didn't seem to be too much effort, certainly not compared to the checks that we do in the uk.
Except of course for those staff members who were running to the plane with rigs over their shoulders - 20 mins after we were all told that everyone had to go through the check. Trust the french not to enforce their own rules!