Canopy Malfunction: Lineover (*landed*, with photos)

[SudsyFist 0]

Greets,

I took some ground shots of a jumper landing a lineover malfunction on his main canopy at Skydive San Diego this summer, which I thought would be good to share for discussion and enlightenment:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sudsyfist/tags/20050727landingalineover/

I don't have the precise technical details, but the jumper had less than 100 jumps (I believe in the 50-60 range), and the canopy was rather large (I believe 190 sq feet) and not aggressively loaded (1.0:1 or so).

I watched the jumper perform what appeared to be a canopy control check after opening with the mal at a safe altitude (a few lefts, rights, and flares), and he flew it very conservatively into the pattern. His descent rate, albeit faster than what he was used to, seemed comparable to most of the other jumpers on the load; however, his forward speed (and thereby glide ratio) was greatly reduced. On landing, he PLF'd without even an attempt at standing it up, fortunately walking away unharmed.

So... discuss! What can we learn from this? What was done well? What could've been done better? What circumstances made this a successful (note, I didn't say *correct*) course of action? And for the real kicker... under what, if any, conditions would choosing to land a main with a line over malfunction be a good decision?

Don't ask me, I'm just the photographer! And on that note, sorry for the crappy quality, but I had my ultrawide on and I was really really far away (read: crop crop crop).

And please, be civil.

Edit: Updated URL.

[pilotdave 0]

Video: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=2502

Dave

[Kris 0]

Heya, Suds...long time, no see!

Discuss? Well, the only time a lineover should be landed is if the jumper either let themselves get too low to cutaway and had no hookknife, or if it's on their reserve and they have no hookknife. Personally, I'd be trying to gnaw through the line with me teeth if I didn't have one of my two knives on me.

That could have been really nasty if that line had started sawing through his canopy.

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

[hookitt 0]

When there's a "controllable" malfunction, the worry comes when it clears near the ground. A guy in Hollister about 10 years ago, was flying a Jonathon 136. He held one toggle down half way between his shoulder and waist to fly it straight.

The malfunction cleared under a hundred feet. Since he was holding one toggle down, the end result was hooking himself into the ground breaking his leg, ribs, face, and probably other bones. It messed him up really bad.

A month or 2 earlier, he had some sort of slow malfunction on a 225 Interceptor and he cutaway sucessfully. Why he chose to ride the tiny canopy to the ground is beyond me.

The Jonathon belonged to me. He was in the middle of purchasing the canopy. He had about 40 or 50 jumps on it by the time he broke himself.

The canopy shown in this thread is a lot larger than a 136 but cutting away and riding the reserve would have been a wise choice. No doubt it was stable and not very likely to change, but it was a LINE OVER. Line over equals bad.

I've personally flown a canopy with a really bad tension knot configuration... meaning I couldn't tell you what the heck was wrong with it... all the way to my hard deck. I almost chose to land it and finally decided it was bad Idea. Seconds before reaching for the cut away, it cleared. It would have really sucked had it cleared 50 feet off the ground.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[feuergnom 22]

landing a line-over = scary

reason for not cutting away? maybe dirt-encrusted cutaway cables that got stuck in the housings? other than that (and beeing to low to safely perform ep's) i would chop the thing

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[slug 1]

Quote

landing a line-over = scary

reason for not cutting away? maybe dirt-encrusted cutaway cables that got stuck in the housings? other than that (and beeing to low to safely perform ep's) i would chop the thing

Reason for not cutting away

Didn't have confidence in his EP's, and the incorrect theory yhat something over his/her head is better than nothing. Like what if he they cutaway and the reserve wasn't there.

Hope they got some remedial training.

R.I.P.

[phoenixlpr 0]

Its a good example when someone does not follow EP.

This time he was lucky. But next time.... ?

[DJL 232]

Should have chopped it. Yes, it was flying OK after deployment but if there were some turbulence when he got low then his canopy could've turned into a mess.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[dragon2 0]

IMO he should've chopped it. We had one jumper on our DZ that landed a hybrid thriathlon with the crw bridle all knotted up so the topskin couldn't spread out. Now he didn't know THAT, but he knew SOMETHING was fishy. Only near the ground, at flare height, did he discover that a) the downward speed was pretty high after all and b) the canopy collapsed on him when he tried to flare, a + b = one hurt jumper.

Not having faith in your EP's, wow, something seriously wrong there!

I chopped a similar mal once, video is on my website. No way would I land a canopy like that (any size) unless it's my reserve and I can't figure out which line to cut.

Well he did control checks at least, but you can't say for sure how fast your descending and if the flare is as it should be. The plf was very smart. And he survived, which is the main thing. But some serious talking to/retraining would be in order, IMO!

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[outlawphx 1]

Looks like someone was lucky not to break a wrist. You should keep your hands closer to your body when planning a PLF.

[RossDagley 0]

Quote

Looks like someone was lucky not to break a wrist. You should keep your hands closer to your body when planning a PLF.

Looking at the photos, it doesn't look like he *planned* a PLF - feet and knees apart, arms out to the side for the flare - maybe he thought it flared fine up high so thought he could stand it up, or maybe he hasn't practiced PLF's before and the 'standup' turned into an 'accidental' PLF?

I'm speculating of course - personally I'd have chopped it long before then - but if I *had* tried to land, I'd be set up for my PLF as best as possible - a deep flare could collapse it.

[MB38 0]

I can't tell from the pictures, but isn't it generally a steering line that causes a line over? Wouldn't flaring pinch down on the canopy more, causing it to lose air?

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[RossDagley 0]

Quote

I can't tell from the pictures, but isn't it generally a steering line that causes a line over? Wouldn't flaring pinch down on the canopy more, causing it to lose air?

I cant answer that as I dont have the knowledge, but if you watch the video (link above) thats exactly what happens - flaring causes the canopy to collapse more, hence the harder than 'planned' landing.

IMHO (for what its worth) he really should have chopped. But he walked away - so...

[Reginald 0]

Quote

I can't tell from the pictures, but isn't it generally a steering line that causes a line over?

Or a "D" line is common too.

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[packerboy 3]

Precisely the reason most BASE jumpers don't route their steering lines through the slider. They don't have the option of using a reserve. They do this so that if they have a line over they should be able to release the toggle to clear it.

--------------------------------------------------
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

[rwieder 0]

I don't know who that is, but that's off the hook. I've seen line overs before, never experienced one myself but just from my observations i would never even attempt to land it. I wouldn't have hesitated to chop that for even 1000th of a second. Glad the pilot "pulled one out of the hat" as it were.

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[hookitt 0]

Quote

Precisely the reason most BASE jumpers don't route their steering lines through the slider.

Close. On slider up BASE jumps, the brake lines are routed through the slider grommets and the guide rings. Slider down (or off) the brake lines are routed outside the grommets and outside the guide rings as well.

Other precautions such as packing techniques, tail gates, etc... help encourage nose first inflation and help prevent lineovers.

The way I look at it, we don't have an option of a main parachute

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[councilman24 36]

It's interesting that all of the responses, except hook's, are from people with realitively low time in the sport and all were chop it. While I would never say that cutting away for this is wrong, I've been around long enough to see reserve malfunctions. A 1400' reserve total malfunction that cleared at 300' (on ME) is what made me decide to become a rigger. The reserve is your LAST CHANCE to live. Going to it when you have a potentially landable canopy should be a considered decision. With round reserves canopy transfers were fairly routine. Get the reserve out and inflated before getting rid of the other nylon. With ram-airs that's somewhat more problematic but was still fairly routine for awhile.

Reserve malfunctions are rare but real. Deciding it's time to cutaway when you have something inflated out is a risk benefit analysis.

Again, the answer chop it is fine. But be aware reserves and riggers and not perfect.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[RumBum 0]

Quote

Heya, Suds...long time, no see!

Discuss? Well, the only time a lineover should be landed is if the jumper either let themselves get too low to cutaway and had no hookknife, or if it's on their reserve and they have no hookknife. Personally, I'd be trying to gnaw through the line with me teeth if I didn't have one of my two knives on me.

That could have been really nasty if that line had started sawing through his canopy.

I have a possibly stupid newbie question (only 2 tandem jumps done, am studying for AFF). I totally understand cutaway and pull reserve, but is they guy saying the main could be REPAIRED by using a knife to cut the offending line? Then I guess you could still fly the main in with one broken line but a properly open canopy? Do most skydivers carry a knife for this kind of situation?

[DZJ 0]

Under British rules, all qualified jumpers have to carry a knife for emergencies (usually to deal with lineovers on reserves rather than mains), but I'm not sure what the rules are in the States (or if there are any).

[mr2mk1g 10]

In some countries the carrying of a knife for that very reason is mandatory. Yes you can cut one line and probably see very little effect on the way in which your canopy flies. The usual advice is however that you ought not bother trying to cut lines on your main canopy but rather resort to your reserve instead. Obviously though, in the unlikely event of a problem with the reserve, then perhaps a knife could be employed there.

[billvon 2,405]

>a main could be REPAIRED by using a knife to cut the offending line?

Recently an experienced jumper packed himself a lineover and tried to cut it with his hookknife. Despite knowing beforehand which line it was, and despite opening high and being prepared, he was unable to do it due to the spinning. A knife is surely nice to have, but in most cases will not do you much good. OTOH if it is your reserve that has the lineover, the knife at least gives you something to do.

[faulknerwn 36]

Very true - but this guy landed this canopy safely in this case - so it surely wasn't spinning like the test case you mentioned.

The last linover I witnessed (on someone else!) was straight over the middle and the canopy was flying perfectly straight. He chopped it and landed his reserve, but the canopy was by no means out of control.

W

[MB38 0]

There's a good video on SkydivingMovies of a cliff BASE in which the jumper has a line over. It wasn't spinning [thankfully] so he managed to get out his hook knife and cut the offending line. He biffed the landing but was completely uninjured. It gives an interesting angle on seeing the canopy choked by a line and instantly regain its composure when the line is cut.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[nate_1979 9]

I would personally chop a line over, controllable or not. Like others have said, it's not predictable, never know what its gonna do at 100 feet. Another concern I would have (which most definately takes the back seat to my health) is that line causing damage to the canopy, line burn, or whatever..

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.