Who had a mal. on a reserve and what was it?

[skydiverek 56]

OK, it's obvious that a reserve can malfunction. Who opened a reserve only to discover that it was less than 100% perfect?

What was the malfunction? Wing loading? How was steering? Landing?

[billvon 2,406]

Adam at San Diego had a lineover on his reserve while doing a tandem. He could just about get it to go straight with full brake deflection on the other toggle. He landed very hard, but in a muddy field, and was OK.

[AggieDave 6]

I had a minor malfunction on a tandem reserve. They have L-bars (the RWS tandems do) and the control line (brake line) looped under the L-bar back up, looped and was locked in place by the slider grommet. It took me a few seconds to figure out how to "unlock" my left toggle with that one. For a split second I thought I was going to have to teach my student how to PLF and come in in 1/2 brakes.

Traced the line, pushed the slider up, got the line "unlocked" then landed safely.


As for the wingloading, that was last September and i can't remember what my student weighed, so I couldn't tell you.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[efs4ever 3]

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I had a minor malfunction on a tandem reserve. They have L-bars (the RWS tandems do) and the control line (brake line) looped under the L-bar back up, looped and was locked in place by the slider grommet. It took me a few seconds to figure out how to "unlock" my left toggle with that one. For a split second I thought I was going to have to teach my student how to PLF and come in in 1/2 brakes.

Traced the line, pushed the slider up, got the line "unlocked" then landed safely.

I had the same problem on a tandem reserve and DIDN'T get it cleard. We landed hard with no flare, but were saved by the WIND.

Russell M. Webb D 7014
Attorney at Law
713 385 5676
https://www.tdcparole.com

[SkydiveMO 0]

Don’t know if this counts but I had a reserve pilot chute entanglement with a main pilot chute in tow on jump number 32. It took a head down dive to clear the entanglement and allow the reserve to deploy. I threw out at 5,000ft, deployed the reserve at approximately 3,000ft and didn’t have a canopy over my head until 500ft. Yeah, I had nightmares about that jump for about a month. I often wonder if I hadn’t been doing a solo jump with the intention of pulling high if the outcome would have been much different. I lost my free bag in a tree so I had to rent gear for jump number 33. Not wanting to push my luck I pulled at 5,000ft again. Wouldn’t you know the rental gear had an old Sentinal in it that fired the reserve out right as the main was deploying. Had I not just spent a thousand plus dollars getting through AFF and several thousand more buying gear I probably would have quit jumping. I did make it 8 years and 1,400 plus jumps before having reserve ride number three.

[AndyMan 7]

I have a friend who had a tandem reserve blow up a few years ago. He suffered back injuries and the passenger broke her leg. I believe he eventually got back into the sport but doesn't throw drogues anymore.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[bmcd308 0]

My reserve deployed but would not fly straight due (I guess) to a manufacturing error. I used almost full toggle deflection on one side to keep it straight and landed no flare. Fortunately, my reserve wl is low, so it was not a big deal.

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www.jumpelvis.com

[tdog 0]

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Yeah, I had nightmares about that jump for about a month

And I think I am going to have nightmares about that jump for the next month. Did you on purpose do the head down thing thinking it would fix the problem - or did it happen as a side effect of trying to clear it by another means?

[johnny1488 1]

Eric Butts had a doosey and he doesnt mind showing the video (I dont think its online though.)

He is pretty big, I've gotta say between 250 and 275 out the door. I dont know the size of the reserve, but it was a lineover kind of thing. Turns out the reserve was baldy out of trim IIRC. He was playing around filming his main canopy cause he had broken a steering line. I think at the time he only had 3 jumps on a 120 so he decided not to land it. He made some good video "bye bye Mr canopy" and dicked around for a bit, then chopped and had the mal.

I have never seen anyone pull risers so far down. He was yanking on those things with everything he had and it righted itself at about 300'. He says he will never delay his EPs again.

Johnny
--"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!"
Mike Rome

[SkydiveMO 0]

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Did you on purpose do the head down thing thinking it would fix the problem - or did it happen as a side effect of trying to clear it by another means?

Well that’s a whole ‘nother story, goes something like this...

I was stationed with an Airborne support unit to the Special Forces Command in Germany at the time. The unit didn’t jump much so I took up skydiving for fun. Many of the skydivers I jumped with were HALO qualified and would talk about their military training. Quite literally the day before my malfunction one of the guys had explained that with all their gear on HALO jumpers create a huge burble in freefall. Often when the pilot chute deploys it will get caught in this burble. Unlike a normal skydiver who can turn and let a little air spill over and clear the pilot chute a HALO jumper can’t easily turn with all the gear. Instead they are taught to do a steep track putting the full force of the wind onto their back and into the pilot chute. As he put it “this will pretty much rip anything off your back that’s got stuck”. Little did I know at the time his “there I was no Sh$*” story would save my life.

I remember the malfunction quite vividly as it’s burned into my memory. I had a side of leg deployment system at the time on a Vector II. I pulled the pilot chute out to full arm extension, let go and watched as it flew down the burble on my arm right onto my back. I remember thinking “that didn’t look right!” I have no clue where the pilot chute went. As I was taught to in AFF I started looking hard over my shoulder for the pilot chute to help put clean air onto my back to clear the pilot chute. This didn’t work, in hindsight I may have been able to go much more unstable or steep tracked to clear the pilot chute at this point. Knowing I was burning precious altitude I pulled the reserve handle and threw it thinking “man I hope that’s not expensive” as I watched it float away (I did not cut away, again in hindsight I really should have). I went back into a good arch unconcerned and waited for the reserve to deploy. After a second I realized nothing was coming off my back so I took a look over my shoulder to check once again for a pilot chute. This time I was able to locate the reserve pilot chute easily as it was spinning itself around the main pilot chute and bridle which appeared to be in tow. Oddly I still wasn’t concerned I just thought what could I do next. I remembered what the HALO jumper had said about clearing pilot chutes and went into a steep dive. As I started my dive I looked down at the ground and saw a group of pine trees. One of those trees went from being small to big real fast... I realized I was breaking through 1,000ft. Now I got very concerned, as I didn’t have anything left that I knew to do to save my life. As I thought “I’m DEAD” the reserve deployed whipping me forward and slamming my head into my chest. With the reserve out the main pack tray went loose and the main fell out. The lines started unstowing from the bag as it fell so I grabbed it real quick and put it between my legs so the main wouldn’t deploy. I reached up cleared the toggles on the reserve, made a left turn to avoid hitting the hangar, flared and slid to a stop two feet from the pea pit (great spot).

Edited to add: What should be learned from my experience is that high-speed malfunctions leave little time to think about what to do next. Review emergency procedures often, use the hanging harness a couple times a year and never give up. Reviewing emergency procedures often will make them second nature and time won’t be wasted wondering what to do next.

[pchapman 262]

Story 1 of 2:

Two instructors from my DZ had tandem reserves blow up on them, very roughly 5 years ago.

For one of them it started with a a high speed main parachute malfunction -- a bag locked main after premature main container opening. On reserve deployment, the top skin ripped, possibly from nose to tail on one cell. The pair descended rapidly under a few inflated cells, but somehow he got a couple more cells to inflate before impact. He and his passenger amazingly walked away.

The other instructor was no longer at our DZ when it happened. On his jump he couldn't get the drogue deployed, didn't go for the reserve right away, and then blew the reserve up with a tandem terminal opening. He was severely injured in the landing, and his passenger must have been busted up somewhat too. A couple years later, after a lot of rehab, he married her! A life altering experience for both.

When my DZ greatly expanded its tandem program, the DZ owner switched from that "Weak" system to Sigmas.

(I can't comment on how good that type of gear might be in a general statistical sense, but you can understand how instructors at our DZ weren't two impressed after two potentially fatal accidents...)

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Story 2 of 2:

I do remember one other reserve mal (non-fatal) at my local DZ, but it has no relevance to modern gear.

Back about '91 a girl was jumping an old starter rig, which not only had a round reserve, still very common at the time in used gear, but also wasn't a full-diaper design. It had a line-equalization diaper to stage the deployment, and all the lines were stowed in the pack tray.

One day she needed to use her reserve. A grommet in the backpad of the reserve tray had an edge stick out, perhaps because the tray had flexed over the years, with weaker stiffeners than found nowadays. So the grommet was no longer properly set, and caught a reserve line that snaked past it.

The round reserve opened out of sequence, breaking the line and blowing out a couple panels of the reserve. The jumper had a hard landing but didn't break anything.

[Tonto 1]

I had a Tandem reserve malfunction.

Posted in incidents here.

I don't do Tandems anymore.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[gkc1436 3]

rig> early javalin NJ articulated harness, soft housings

reserve> tempo 120

i was rear float on a 3 way belly coach jump, one of the students yanked my chest strap on SET firing the reserve just as i let go of the otter.
the reserve had a minor left hand turn that i was controling with the risers until i unstowed the brakes
with the brakes unstowed it took about 85% right input to keep it straight
right hand turns would cause the canopy to colapse, but it would do better left turns(kicking and bucking but turning),
after many practice flares and figuring out what flare would do the least harm to the parachute
spent 13000' going straight in with a left hand pattern over the dz, i put it in the peas(it colapsed on flare)

rig had just been re-packed but a friend had put 3 jumps on it that day,
during the repack the reserve handle was mounted about 3/4" low on the velcrow by the rigger taking out all the slack built in causing the premature opening,
the reserve checked after by the same rigger was said to be connected correctly(?)
tempo wouldnt talk to me.....answer calls whatever....
i continued to jump with this canopy on my back for 1500 or so more jumps
when it was test jumped it flew normally

connected wrong???? dunno....

[The111 0]

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I had the same problem on a tandem reserve and DIDN'T get it cleard. We landed hard with no flare, but were saved by the WIND.

Please explain this. I'm confused, since constant wind doesn't affect the descent rate of your canopy.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[windcatcher 0]

I just had a few line twists in my reserve, ONCE I got the main cleared from it. I have heard though, that a few line twists in a reserve aren't all that uncommon during deployment, since you aren't perfectly belly to earth.

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[billvon 2,406]

>since constant wind doesn't affect the descent rate of your canopy.

But it does affect your forward speed; much better to land into the wind than downwind even if you don't flare.

[efs4ever 3]

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I had the same problem on a tandem reserve and DIDN'T get it cleard. We landed hard with no flare, but were saved by the WIND.

Please explain this. I'm confused, since constant wind doesn't affect the descent rate of your canopy.

It affects the forward speed. We were deep in the brakes, like an accuracy approach.

Russell M. Webb D 7014
Attorney at Law
713 385 5676
https://www.tdcparole.com

[The111 0]

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It affects the forward speed. We were deep in the brakes, like an accuracy approach.

Then wouldn't you have had a pretty minimal forward speed regardless of wind?

Anyway, I guess I just figured with a mal'ed reserve canopy, the thing to be most afraid of would be the descent rate. But I'll admit I'm thinking from the perspective of a solo jumper, and I guess forward speed is probably a lot worse when you have someone strapped to you, huh?

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[dcgilbert 0]

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Story 1 of 2:

The other instructor was no longer at our DZ when it happened. On his jump he couldn't get the drogue deployed, didn't go for the reserve right away, and then blew the reserve up with a tandem terminal opening. He was severely injured in the landing, and his passenger must have been busted up somewhat too. A couple years later, after a lot of rehab, he married her! A life altering experience for both.

Is that Scott and Meriah(sp?)? I got my license at Frontier. Freaky if this has happend TWICE.

[AndyMan 7]

As a solo jumper, a faster decent rate with no forward groundspeed is easy to deal with, and has was done countless times when people were jumping rounds. PLF.

There's a commonly given piece of advice that even goes so far to say that "you do not need to flare when jumping in high winds". Personally I believe that advice to be flat wrong, but there is a grain of truth in it - as long as you do a good PLF.

A fast decent rate combined with forward speed is more complicated since it's more dificult to PLF with a high forward speed, unless you've got some martial arts training in rolls.

Of course, I have no idea how a tandem pair would even attempt a PLF, never mind a roll...

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[pchapman 262]

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Story 1 of 2:
[...]
On his jump he couldn't get the drogue deployed, didn't go for the reserve right away, and then blew the reserve up with a tandem terminal opening.

[...]
Is that Scott and Meriah(sp?)?

Yes that was them!

[winsor 186]

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OK, it's obvious that a reserve can malfunction. Who opened a reserve only to discover that it was less than 100% perfect?

What was the malfunction? Wing loading? How was steering? Landing?

I have never had a reserve malfunction, but I have packed one.

FWIW, the reserve opened exactly as it should have done, but it was operating in excess of its placarded limits for both loading and speed, and thus sustained significant damage.

A Strong LoPo Lite 26' conical was deployed at higher than a "low speed" rate of descent with a loading of something around 250#. There were broken lines, and two seams blown out that worked like extra modifications (LeMoigne? Derry slots?), and resulted in a faster than normal arrival.

I count it as a "save," and the people at Strong - who were well-versed on the scenario and personnel involved - stated that the canopy had performed above and beyond its specifications.

This is but one of the cases that has led me to wish for a "nylon overcast" when I yank silver, regardless of how tiny the main I jump might be.


Blue skies,

Winsor