Almost a serious incident - Do your own gear check!

[lewmonst 0]

I usually don't post other people's mishaps, but this one we can all learn from...

An experienced jumper was demo-ing a rig and main. Due to time constraints the jumper had a packer hook-up and pack the main.
Immidiately after landing the second jump on it of the day, one of the risers just came off/fell off the attachment point. It was found that the yellow cable had been innadvertently routed through the gromet-hole of the hard-housing and then through the loop and into the riser-stow. Under tension, it seemed to stay in place, barely, but when tension was eased, it slipped. It likely slipped a little after the first jump, and was just on the verge of coming undone on the second jump. The jumper is very, very lucky to not have had the riser come off under canopy, especially close to the ground, obviously.

People, give yourself a good gear check. Do not trust packers (not saying that packers aren't trustworthy, just that you still have to take responsibility for your gear).
A simple, but thorough, check of 3's would have caught this. When you check your three-rings, don't just look at the three-rings, look at the cable and routing to make sure it is routed properly.

It's your life.

Live and learn.

Peace

http://www.exitshot.com

[kenneth21441 0]

I am glad that no one was hurt/ or injuried...
I agree with you 100 percent that we need to all perform gear checks, I even check my self after another person does and I also check others that had been checked.. You can never be to safe here....

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

[freethefly 6]

it is amazing how many times you see someone just "gear up" and get on the plane without first checking their gear themself and then getting a second gear check from someone else. hell, it is your LIFE, check it out.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[JohnMitchell 14]

Who packed the rig for the second jump? It should have been obvious during packing that the 3-ring was not properly assembled. That is a serious screw up. When doing something out of the ordinary, double check your work.

[Reginald 0]

Quote

People, give yourself a good gear check. Do not trust packers (not saying that packers aren't trustworthy, just that you still have to take responsibility for your gear).

It's your life.

Live and learn.

Peace

I agree 100%. I mean come on people we're jumping out of airplanes! I get a good-natured dose of s*** from my friends and packer because I check my gear EVERY TIME before I put it on. I also get pin checks in the plane, EVERY TIME. They (in a good-natured way) tell me I have "gear fear". I also change my closing loop at the first sign of wear. Why not it's a 10 cent piece of equipment?!? I can afford the 10 cents!

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

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

On the plane one time I caught a guy who had hooked up a main, but in doing so never ran the white loop through grommet at the end of the cable housing prior to putting the release cable through. Both sides were done this way. I fixed it on the plane for him in about a minute, but it's a good thing that I had noticed it.

I constantly scan other peoples' gear in the plane. I also check my own release system at least once on the ground and once in the plane.

chuck

[metalslug 31]

Quote

It was found that the yellow cable had been innadvertently routed through the gromet-hole of the hard-housing and then through the loop and into the riser-stow.

You mean the cutaway cable ?
I read this and my newbie mind has no idea what you're really talking about.

On my FJC were taught to pay attention to the rings, but only to check that they were arranged overlapping in the correct way with regard to the riser that runs through them. I was not shown how to correctly route a cutaway cable. Is it common for students to be taught this on a FJC or should we all be asking our riggers to explain correct cable routing to us later on in our skydiving lifetime ? (hopefuly not too late)

Does anyone have a photo or a link to a page someplace that can educate me on what Lew has just said ? I still dont know what I'm supposed to be checking.

[mattjw916 2]

Yes, you should have known what they were talking about... part of checking the 3 rings in to make sure the loop is through the top ring and then down through the grommet with the yellow (cutaway) cable routed through the fabric loop only and then into the channel behind the riser.

Personally I would ask anyone experienced to show you how this works ASAP since you should be checking it already. As one of your coaches/instructors to show you how to connect a main that has been chopped back to the rig too while you are at it. It is really simple and straight forward...

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[Deuce 1]

At my AFF I course, Jay Stokes taught this neat mnemonic that I use now. When inspecting the three rings I teach my students to touch each component and confirm proper routing of each.

The mnemonic goes like this:

Papa ring
Mama ring
Baby ring
Piece of string
Yellow thing

It's hard to forget, and it works.

[riggerrob 558]

The best angle - for inspecting 3-rings - is from the side.

[goose491 0]

Quote

Papa ring
Mama ring
Baby ring
Piece of string
Yellow thing

Yeah! I like that Deuce. Good show.

I remember being taught to check the three rings on a gear check... that was it at first. Check that the medium is through the big, the small is through the medium, that they both turn freely and that the 'shoe-string' passed through the small.

It wasn't until around self-super time that I was taught to check a) that the shoe-string was passed through the gromet in cable housing, b) that the cutaway cable passed through the shoe-string and c) that the cutaway cable was stowed deep enough in the riser channel.

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[Fast 0]

Quote

The best angle - for inspecting 3-rings - is from the side.

Which is the view I get when I check them every time on the plane. It only takes a few seconds to look and make sure everything is routed right.

Besides a full gear check on the ground my personal in-plane check includes 3 handles, 2 three rings (including routing), and all three straps for routing. I really don't see a reason not to look at this stuff. The time that it takes is miniscule compared to the time to altitude and the number of problems that you cand find yourself facing if you don't check these things.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[JohnMitchell 14]

Quote

At my AFF I course, Jay Stokes taught this neat mnemonic that I use now. When inspecting the three rings I teach my students to touch each component and confirm proper routing of each.

The mnemonic goes like this:

Papa ring
Mama ring
Baby ring
Piece of string
Yellow thing

It's hard to forget, and it works.

Maybe the packer was using that because it still leaves out the grommet on the cable housings! I've seen people with hundreds of jumps that can't put their 3 rings together. That poem needs a small change.

piece of string
grommet ring
yellow thing

[kingbunky 3]

Quote

Quote

At my AFF I course, Jay Stokes taught this neat mnemonic that I use now. When inspecting the three rings I teach my students to touch each component and confirm proper routing of each.

The mnemonic goes like this:

Papa ring
Mama ring
Baby ring
Piece of string
Yellow thing

It's hard to forget, and it works.

Maybe the packer was using that because it still leaves out the grommet on the cable housings! I've seen people with hundreds of jumps that can't put their 3 rings together. That poem needs a small change.

piece of string
grommet ring
yellow thing

i learned the same little rhyme, with the addition of chekcing the rsl if you had one:

papa ring
mama ring
baby ring
piece of string
grommet ring (new addition!)
yellow thing
d' udder ting! (rsl)

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