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JerryBaumchen

Rigging Error

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riggerrob

Caught that error on a couple of my own pack jobs. Caught the error before I finished the paperwork and long before the owner came to pick up his rig.

did you catch them before or after sealing ?
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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Even if I did that. (maybe I have, maybe I haven't) I never seal a rig before measuring the pull force. You all measure the pull force don't you?
Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

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gowlerk

Even if I did that. (maybe I have, maybe I haven't) I never seal a rig before measuring the pull force. You all measure the pull force don't you?



I was once interested in trying to figure out how much pull reduction to expect in the 180 day life of a packjob. Some riggers were far more consistent than the pins themselves. They always wrote 15# but their lying cheating bastard pins could be anywhere from 10 to 25.

-Michael

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hackish



I was once interested in trying to figure out how much pull reduction to expect in the 180 day life of a packjob. Some riggers were far more consistent than the pins themselves. They always wrote 15# but their lying cheating bastard pins could be anywhere from 10 to 25.

-Michael



That's interesting, with a low number of jumps I had a two out on a rental gear when the reserve came out with the impact of the main deployment, likely to a loose reserve pin that I didn't check properly before gearing up or maybe for a misrouted RSL. Although I assume full guilty for the the lack of gear check (and I learned my lesson), I asked at the time how long had been since the reserve had been packed, and the instructor's answer was that it didn't matter for my case.

Did you get to any conclusions on this?

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I've seen a reserve with a packing pin left under the top flap, the rig had had about 60 jumps on it like that. You couldn't see it on a normal pin check, it was found after the rig had been turned on its edge and you could see the flaps layered in closing order.

A group of 4 riggers were doing gear checks prior to a nationals. The standard practice was for every rig to be checked by two different riggers. I don't think we ever found fault free gear.

The rigger responsible in this case had his rating pulled (permanently) on the spot.

His packing pins had a red flag/tag on them, he'd obviously pulled on the tag to remove the packing pin and it had torn away, leaving the pin in place and locking the reserve closed. This was in the days predating cutters on AADs.

Prior to the meet, a group of riggers would gather and we'd play "find the fault", where we'd each set up a rig with a fault and get the others to check and find the problem.

There were some very creative minds amongst the group, and the pressure was on when inspecting the gear, but it certainly kept all of us sharp. Very embarrassing if you couldn't find the problem, but a great learning tool.
My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

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The rigger responsible in this case had his rating pulled (permanently) on the spot.



Which couldn't happen in the US. FAA wouldn't be there and permanent revocation would take due process. At least this case the.seal isn't broken and the evidence remains intact. I'm assuming this is in the US based on the seal. Does anybody know if it was reported to FAA and what sanctions where/are being taken by the FAA?

I was about to post the question again of what disciplinary/legal actions against riggers people have know of. I know of only two for sure and apparently MEL is involved in some legal case.. I've heard 'I heard' accounts but never enough detail to know if they're true.
I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

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councilman24

Quote

The rigger responsible in this case had his rating pulled (permanently) on the spot.



Which couldn't happen in the US. FAA wouldn't be there and permanent revocation would take due process. At least this case the.seal isn't broken and the evidence remains intact. I'm assuming this is in the US based on the seal. Does anybody know if it was reported to FAA and what sanctions where/are being taken by the FAA?

I was about to post the question again of what disciplinary/legal actions against riggers people have know of. I know of only two for sure and apparently MEL is involved in some legal case.. I've heard 'I heard' accounts but never enough detail to know if they're true.



In this case the rigger accepted responsibility for his error and the rating revocation without complaint. I think he was relieved his error hadn't resulted in a fatality, so regarded the sanction as quite justified.

Anyone who makes such a clear error and then disputes the sanction needs to take a hard look at themselves.

Who would want the death of a fellow jumper due to such a stupid mistake on their conscience? The error shown in the OP demonstrates an incomprehensible level of incompetence.
My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

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I was once interested in trying to figure out how much pull reduction to expect in the 180 day life of a packjob. Some riggers were far more consistent than the pins themselves. They always wrote 15# but their lying cheating bastard pins could be anywhere from 10 to 25.

-Michael




Usually 2 to 4 lbs, sometimes none and occasionally 5. I always record before and after pull force on every rig and I have mostly return customers. That's what I have found the difference to be.
Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

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gowlerk

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I was once interested in trying to figure out how much pull reduction to expect in the 180 day life of a packjob. Some riggers were far more consistent than the pins themselves. They always wrote 15# but their lying cheating bastard pins could be anywhere from 10 to 25.

-Michael




Usually 2 to 4 lbs, sometimes none and occasionally 5. I always record before and after pull force on every rig and I have mostly return customers. That's what I have found the difference to be.



From memory I believe I found about the same. I gave up when I realized that none of the local riggers who wrote numbers down were actually testing them.

-Michael

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Early on, I pinned one where the loop had slipped off the pin, so I get how you can do that...

But how do you not notice.
How do you then proceed to seal it without noticing?

Not saying I can't make a mistake, but you've got to be careful, you've got to be sure.

JW
Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

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All of us have erred. Granted this is a doozy. A fatal doozy at that, but: It is as simple as being a parachute rigger, and following proper procedure; as distinguished from simply being a 'packer with a rigging certificate', packing a reserve and as they say, get it done and "throw it over the fence" without checking it.

The difference? Checking one's work. Which means taking the time to check your work. Better yet, check your work AND have someone else check it too. OK I know this isn't always possible, but actually slowing down and doing it when we are alone is our obligation.

First time I packed a Mirage G4 years ago, didn't put the flap under the strap. Checked my work and re did the closing. Like I said, we all have erred on something, but not taking the time to check one's work was the real error here.
A checklist will help you prove most of it and in addition, pretend you are jumping it and really go over everything you touched.

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