wakeup call

[larry 0]

Got a real wakeup call last weekend, not by what happened but by what could have happened.
I’m close to having my A license and am feeling more confident about jumping. Enjoying it more now that I don’t have the performance pressure of being rated on each jump and landing. Doesn’t mean I don’t push myself to grow and learn.
Anyway, two times while suiting up I was talking or otherwise distracted while gearing up and misrouted my chest strap (looped it through but did not route it back in over the pin, just tucked it under the strap that holds down the excess slack). I caught my mistake as soon as I did it, but what scared the hell out of me was what if I had been more relaxed in my check or more distracted? I have read about several deaths due to falling out of harness while opening.
I always do the three-point check for leg straps and chest strap routing, but will do it religiously from now on. My point to others just beginning is to never let your guard down. I’m sure those with hundreds or thousands of jumps got to that level because they (try not to) get over confident.
(Interesting side note: heard there was once a jumper about 10 years ago that forgot to wear a rig at all, did not realize till pull time. I have heard this from a reliable source and believe it to be true though some of you may think I’m full of shit)
You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice. – author unknown

[Grogs 0]

I had a similar thing happen to me during one of my coached jumps. The coach pulled my chest strap and it came undone all the way to the sew-back at the end of the strap. It took me about 5 seconds to realize what had happened, and then I nearly crapped myself. I can honestly say that on *every* single jump I've made since then I've checked my chest strap several times before I left the airplane.

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(Interesting side note: heard there was once a jumper about 10 years ago that forgot to wear a rig at all, did not realize till pull time. I have heard this from a reliable source and believe it to be true though some of you may think I’m full of shit)

I've never heard of this, but I can actually see it happening. Maybe on the hang-over load in the middle of a week at some big boogie. Everyone on the load was so hung over they never even noticed, including the jumper himself.

[DZBone 0]

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heard there was once a jumper about 10 years ago that forgot to wear a rig at all, did not realize till pull time

There is controversy over this event as to whether he forgot or not, but he did leave the plane without his rig. He was a videographer with quite a bit of experience, as I recall.

[Zennie 0]

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There is controversy over this event as to whether he forgot or not, but he did leave the plane without his rig. He was a videographer with quite a bit of experience, as I recall

How on earth (or off I suppose) could he make it all the way to jump time without at least one person noticing that he didn't have a rig on? And many other folks on the plane look over other people's rigs for misrouted straps, exposed risers/bridles, etc.
I did hear about a skydiver a few years ago who commonly rode to altitude with her chest strap undone and then strapped up right before leaving. Welp, one day she forgot. At pull time she wound up hanging by her legstraps and eventually slipped out.
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Blue Skies!
Zennie

[Geoff 0]

I think most of us have done this at one time or another. Chest strap misrouting is the most common mistake made in gearing-up. I've caught at least 4 other jumpers with this - either on the ground or in the plane, and once my own at about 5000ft on the way up (actually my chest strap wasn't done up at all, but was tucked back behind the main lift web). That was a big wake-up call. There was no real danger because I always check it before exit, but it shook me up that I'd got that far without noticing.
Geoff

[billvon 2,380]

>Anyway, two times while suiting up I was talking or otherwise distracted while gearing up and misrouted my chest strap (looped it through but did not route it back in over the pin, just tucked it under the strap that holds down the excess slack). I caught my mistake as soon as I did it, but what scared the hell out of me was what if I had been more relaxed in my check or more distracted? I have read about several deaths due to falling out of harness while opening.
It is unlikely but possible that you'll fall out of your harness. Freeflying, or a small person arching hard, makes it more likely that the rig will slip back or down enough for you to fall out. I made that mistake once, and fortunately did not fall out of my harness. (In fact, the only reason I knew something was amiss was a clinking noise after I opened, from the bar on the friction adapter swinging in the breeze.) I recently stopped someone else from jumping with a misrouted chest strap up at Perris. The eerie part of that was that she was an AFF-I with around 4000 jumps, and was on a record attempt. It can happen to anyone if you're not careful.
>(Interesting side note: heard there was once a jumper about 10 years ago that forgot to wear a rig at all, did not realize till pull time. I have heard this from a reliable source and believe it to be true though some you may think I’m full of shit)
Yes. He was wearing a belly-mount VCR and head-mounted camera, and the 'harness' he used to mount the VCR may have made him feel that he had a rig on (at least according to the most credible account I've heard.)
-bill von

[Snowflake 0]

yep happened to me and right in front of the DZ manager. The DZ manager tells this girl to check me she does then we walk out to the plane to load he stop us both and says "John your dead **** it's your fault" he grabs my chest strap and pulls it loose. Now I can't stop checking it even after someone checks me before we exit.
Interesting side note: heard there was once a jumper about 10 years ago that forgot to wear a rig at all, did not realize till pull time. I have heard this from a reliable source and believe it to be true though some you may think I’m full of shit.
I heard this story from my DZO. I heard he was doing back to backs and thru his rig in the plane and leaned up against it then at altitude he hops up and jumps out. I think this just might be one of those skydiving urban legends any one really know, and I mean know first hand of this incident
JG

[freeflir29 0]

Yes their was a video guy that went out with no rig.......How stupid can you be! (Saw the video) The rule I always follow is this. I dont get in the plane unless I am ready to get out. Granted I dont have my goggles and helmet on but I can live through a skydive without those. People that get on with chest straps hanging piss me off. I cant stand it but whoa for me with 73 jumps to tell someone with 6-7 thousand to fasten it. Maybe one day these people will realize that they are mentors and trend setters on the DZ. I will never do this. Not next weekend....not in 10 yrs! Set the example, if you have 10 jumps or 10,000.
"I used to know a girl...She had two pirced nipples and a black tattoo"-Everclear
Clay

[Zennie 0]

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but whoa for me with 73 jumps to tell someone with 6-7 thousand to fasten it

Stupidity knows no experience level. Nor does common sense.
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Blue Skies!
Zennie

[freeflir29 0]

Zennie- I look at it like this. If they have that many jumps and are doing something so blatantly stupid, I let them. They should know better by now. You, out of the gene pool!
"I used to know a girl...She had two pirced nipples and a black tattoo"-Everclear
Clay

[riggerrob 558]

Today, I stopped three people with mis-routed chest straps! All on the sunset load!!

[NewGuy 0]

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Today, I stopped three people with mis-routed chest straps! All on the sunset load!!

Yes... and I for one am very thankful you did. Now the 3 x 3 x 3 check is seared in my memory. Thank you!
Cheers,
NewGuy

[chicagoskydiver 0]

When I'm gearing up, I always fasten my chest strap first, by habit, and LOOK at it to ensure proper routing and PULL on it to ensure proper tension. Don't be talking to anyone while you're gearing up, that's no time to be distracted. There'll be plenty of time for chit chat on the plane. This is BASIC stuff and it must be done right every time!
Hackey

[xybe 0]

You know, this is my skydivng nightmare, falling off my harness.
Since I am still not off of student status I usually pay a lot of attention when gearing up and get checked by a JM. I hope I will never become so overconfident that neglect my chest strap.
By the way, what is a 3x3x3? I don't think I was tought this particular method.
Still shedding whuffo-ness
Check out the Hardcore Whuffo pages

[Geoff 0]

The 3x3 check (has several different names) goes like this...
Remember to check three things, each of which has three parts:
One - your 3 handles - main, chop, reserve.
Two - your 3 points of attachment - 2 leg straps and a chest strap
three - your 3 ring release system (actually 6 rings, but saying 3 helps you to remember.)
That's it. Simple, easy to remember, saves lives.
Geoff

[dove 0]

I remember reading about that girl last year that fell out of her harness cause of a misrouted chest strap. Scared the crap out of my cause it would be so easy to do. So I find myself checking my own and others incessantly. I'd rather have them be irritated by me ("Yeah, I know. I don't fasten until jump run.") than to have them die and wish I had said something. I hate to lose another fellow jumper to sloppiness - even if that jumper thinks I am a pest. As I am getting ready (couple minutes out) I also just look around at others gear automatically. If I notice anyhing "off" I mention it. I have received nothing but gratitude for noticing a flopping pc or loose main flap. Almost scarier than that jumper leaving without a rig is everyone else on the plane also let him do it! All for one, and one for all.
Dove

[PhillyKev 0]

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The rule I always follow is this. I dont get in the plane unless I am ready to get out. Granted I dont have my goggles and helmet on but I can live through a skydive without those. People that get on with chest straps hanging piss me off.

Personally, I don't even get into the boarding area unless I'm fully prepared to jump out of the plane. I see people tightening or fastening chest straps and/or tightening leg straps just before jump run all the time and I just don't understand it. Having your leg straps loose for the short walk from the boarding area to the plane and then sitting down isn't that uncomfortable. I just don't understand how the minimal comfort benefit outweighs the risk. Plus it's a pain in the ass on the plane when everyone is standing up to tighten their leg straps, everyone has to reposition and get jostled. IMO that's more of an inconvenience then just having all your gear set when you board.
And if anyone sees me starting to slack off and leave my gear half prepared when boarding, please remind me that I made this post so I don't fall into bad habits.
cielos azules y cerveza fría
-Kevin

[Geoff 0]

I always wonder how much fun it would be to perform a rushed emergency exit and then deploy with loose legstraps. Could be painful, and then you may be unbalanced in the harness, unable to reach your toggles...... maybe low already, maybe under an unfamiliar reserve.
nah... think I'll tighten mine before getting on the plane and risk looking uncool.

[riggerrob 558]

Geoff's last post reminds me of a jumper at California City who was too cool to tighten his leg straps before boarding. He was also too cool to tighten them before exit. In freefall, he could not reach his main handle, so he had to pull his reserve. That's cool!

[Donna 0]

I am the chest strap paranoid woman. I read about a young girl falling out of her harness because of a misrouted chest strap before starting AFF last year. I drove my instructors crazy checking and rechecking my chest strap every time. Then it happened again to Nicole last summer and her death haunted me. I didn't think it would be possible to be more obsessed about chest straps than I was. I couldn't possibly see how someone could not put it under the metal fastener but just put it through the elastic keeper. Who could be that stupid??? Well... guess what I did last weekend! YUP! I misrouted my chest strap! I just put it through the first metal piece and then through the elastic keeper. Luckily someone pointed it out to me 2 minutes later as I was walking out to manifest. Now I'm pretty sure I would have caught it since I do check metal, metal, metal as part of my own gear check and I would have gotten a gear check from someone else before boarding but it still scared the shit out of me. I could not believe I had actually screwed up like this. Be careful out there people!
Skies,
D

[Aviatrr 0]

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Personally, I don't even get into the boarding area unless I'm fully prepared to jump out of the plane. I see people tightening or fastening chest straps and/or tightening leg straps just before jump run all the time and I just don't understand it. Having your leg straps loose for the short walk from the boarding area to the plane and then sitting down isn't that uncomfortable. I just don't understand how the minimal comfort benefit outweighs the risk.

You may not be seeing exactly what you think.. If you're on an airplane with me, you will ALWAYS see me tightening my leg straps and chest strap when we get close to jumprun.. Do I get in the airplane in the condition I plan on exiting? Nope.. Having those straps as tight as I normally jump with would be damn uncomfortable.....BUT, my straps are always tight enough to not cause a problem if I exit that way.. When I'm freeflying, I like my straps very tight..
I get in the airplane ready to exit in a low emergency.. That means leg straps and chest strap fastened and snug.. If I am belly flying the entire dive, I will not need to tighten them before exit - but if I'm freeflying, I will.. Next time you're in the plane, look to see if those people are tightening them because they are too loose to safely exit, or because they are too loose for the freeflying they are about to do.. I get comments now and then regarding tightening my straps on jumprun(and not prior to boarding), and I explain to 'em that I have all straps tight enough for belly flying or a low exit, but not tight enough(IMO) for freeflying..
Regarding the gear checks prior to boarding and exit, I use the 3-3-3.. Check the 3 rings, check the three handles, and check the 3 points of attachment.. I do this check twice on the ground(after gear up and before boarding) and several times in the aircraft(at least during taxi, sometime during climb, and again when preparing for exit).. When I check my chest strap, I don't do so by just looking at it - I pull on it.. If the chest strap is misrouted, it will slip when you do this.. I always have people telling me my chest strap is mis-routed, but it just appears that way at first glance because of the way I route the excess.. I always show them how it is routed, and thank them for saying something when they thought it was wrong..
Mike

[freeflir29 0]

You sound like me. I am usually fidgeting with and yanking on my straps on jump run. I learned to yank and trace everything in the military. Just looking at them doesn't cut it.
"I used to know a girl...She had two pirced nipples and a black tattoo"-Everclear
Clay

[PhillyKev 0]

Well, I've never seen anyone intentionally leave the chest strap undone, just really loose. But I have seen leg straps loosened completely to the end of the strap quite often. I've also seen people trying to get their booties on their feet on jump run. I have everything on and tightened before I get on the plane, and it's just not that uncomfortable. I don't know, maybe I like harnesses or something. But I'll continue having my gear fully ready for my jump before I get on the plane and wondering what good reason there is not to.
cielos azules y cerveza fría
-Kevin

[freeflir29 0]

Well...the booties I can see. Walking around on pavement with booties adds up to early jump suit replacement. Notice all the people with duck tape on the toes!
"I've got pieces of corn in my crap bigger than him" -Fat Bastard
Clay

[CheshireCat 0]

Have to admit, I am amazed.
20+ replies speaking about importance of following procedures and checking everything. Not a single thought about HOW TO ALTER THIS DETAIL to prevent this problem (chest strap misroute). I do believe in equipment improvement. The rigs we are wearing are result of hundreds of deaths; the existing design of every detail is paid by human lifes. So, jumpers, instructors and examiners, please, could you come up with some fresh ideas about making this equipment more safe and fool-proof?