johnfallo

speculation is the correct word. How the release occurred? I think the cable housing was pulled. It could have been from the long side or from the short side above the mudflap. Given the position it was found in the aftermath I would be inclined to believe it had been pulled in that direction (above the short side mudflap). As to how it would have been pulled I don't have any idea.

Some additional thoughts,
While the jumper did change out his main a couple weeks earlier.The jumper is knowledgeable about his gear. I feel confident that he would have hooked up his 3 ring correctly. but lets say for arguments sake that he misrouted it on the long side, riser loop not through the terminal end grommet of the cable housing as in the picture I've attached. This configuration will stay together until pulled on, and it doesn't take much force to pull the housing away and release the cable and therefore the riser. Add to this that the long side isn't tacked under the mudflap, so if it somehow works itself out from under the mudflap it will tend to want to straighten out and viola you can explain the riser release. This type of release is very easy I don't think that this type of release would generate very much force downstream on the cable housing to move it at all. much less break the tacking and rip the housing out of the shrink wrap at the chest strap juncture all the way from the other side of the rig. What would move easily would move, and then you would have release. This scenario would explain the release but not the housing being out of position. once released there should be nothing pulling on the housing, and if pulled from the long side it should have remained extended past a normal length on the long side. Further all of this would have to be made on assumptions as there was nothing to indicate this. What was obvious and would also cause a RSL side release is what was present, the long side housing moving upstream independently of the cutaway cable and short side housing. I just can't figure out what would pull on it.

I was not suggesting that at all. I just knew he didn't get before pictures. Pictures after are better than no pictures at all. I did look at the entire length of the cable where visible before it was packed and I didn't observe any damage or imperfections. I am not his rigger but was interested in what could have caused this. While I think I know how it happened I am clueless as to a cause. In a case such as this the more eyes on it the better.

He did not take a picture of the other side before it was put back in place.

There was no damage or wear anywhere along the path of the housing through the yoke of the rig. I didn't see any tacking or securing through the yoke other than a large tape loop which the housing runs through freely to keep it generally in the right area. The end of the long side (RSL side) was no longer under the mudflap, I did not see any indication that there had been any tacking or other securing method used on this side to keep it under the mudflap, but it did not appear to have been pulled since once tucked into the mudflap it was the correct length. It seems possible that the long side could have come out from under the mudflap in freefall or at deployment time. This still seems to me to require something pulling on this loop of housing hard to break the tacks, shrink wrap, and pull the housing around two 180 degree bends and doesn't explain to me why more of the housing wasn't coming out of the long side. I really don't see that housing getting pulled all the way from the long side and then after release when there is no longer any tension or compression on it, The housing then reverses to come 8-10 inches out of the short side exit hole above the mudflap. Typically I would think that the grommet in the terminal end of the housing would be enough to hold everything in place so long as there is no pulling action further down the line. The tacking and shrink wrap at the chest strap junction were the only thing I saw to prevent it from pulling through. If the housing had been pulled from the long side or anywhere above the short side mudflap it should have been constantly retracting. I get that if it stopped near the hole above the mudflap it may have poked out of it, Yes, the hole is 4 inches wide,but it is still only half an inch tall. but I still have trouble thinking that it would reverse the direction it was getting pulled to come out of that hole 8-10 inches. The bottom line is we need something pulling on that housing. It did not get there by itself.

I am one of the riggers to look at this rig. here are my findings and opinions. Cable housing was tacked and cable housings were shrink wrapped together. Cutaway handle stayed in place, short side cutaway housing stayed in place. The long side (RSL side) cutaway housing was pulled out above the mudflap and protruding about 8- 10 inches. I know pulling that housing with the handle and other housing in place would cause the release, but I cannot understand how it got pulled from there at deployment time (or any other time for that matter). I have to push my finger into a half inch hole (where the short side housing exits to the big ring) and to try to wiggle my finger under the long side housing as it continues through to the yoke. this is where it was protruding from. I tried to do this after the rig was repacked and it's not easy. There is nothing apparent that could be close enough to do this. He had changed his main a couple of weeks before, but I can't think of any possible way that an inadvertent release of a misrigged 3 ring would pull on the cable housing once released, but if it were pulled from the long side it should have been retracting into the yoke, not protruding out from the mudflap, this appears to indicate it was pulled in this direction.

There are 'known' problems or 'no' problems? Please clarify your response.

Thanks.

JC

If you are using a SR100, could you answer a few questions for me.

Does it skip? How is the video quality? Are you pulling stills from the video? How is the quality on those?

What other cameras have you flown with and how does the SR100 compare?

What companies are manufacturing a mounting box for the SR100? Which box are you using?

Thanks!

JC