All_Wrapped_Up

This past Saturday was exciting for myself and Jumper B. Jumpers B, C, D and I were going to do a cross country sunset load, exiting about 14k AGL 7 miles out from the DZ. Winds were in the range of 50kts. 4 uneventful deployments lead to a great cross country full great sights from altitude. Jumpers B, C and I have bumped end cells in the past and in preparation for this jump, B and I unhooked our RSL’s. Everything was great until just over 8000 feet when, as I hang on my rear risers, jumper B makes an aggressive maneuver to come in for an end cell bump and overamps the approach. The right third of my canopy (SabreII 150) collapses as jumper B’s body impacts and sends me in an uncontrolled dive to the right. I’ve never turned or dove so fast under canopy before. During this dive, in a split second, my canopy made a full 180* turn and Jumper B passed through the lines on the right side of my canopy and returned through a separate set. As B came through the lines, my canopy’s dive ceased but I was spinning very hard and very fast. My friend was stuck above me in a forest of lines and completely formless nylon. I traced my risers up into B’s lines above my head and realized that my lines did not cross his body. I yelled “(B’s NAME) I’M GOING TO CHOP,” to which he responded, “OK,” and I rebutted, “BYE!” Reach red, pull red… SNAP goes the rubber band holding my slider to my reserve flap and I’m ejected to the side of the spinning beast. Reach silver (pillow) pull silver still subterminal but stable and I am now in love with my PDR160! I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. As I cut away my risers flew up into the lines of Jumper B’s main which had then partially inflated. He decided that it was not landable and had an otherwise uneventful chop and reserve deployment of his own. I followed the canopies down, but both freebags landed in suburbia. The cause of the incident was stupid skydivers with inadequate coaching and gear which was not mated well for close proximity canopy flying. I am one of the stupid ones. Jumpers C and D were busy waving from a respectable distance and they landed on the DZ without incident. This was by far the most intense moment of my skydiving career… I’m sure that my involvement in the wrap lasted 10-15 seconds maximum but I replay it in my head as if it was 10 years long. It was as if I wasn’t even there, like I was being operated by remote control. The training works though, we played it by the book and the book is damn right. Jumper D was so nervous about our condition that she made her first cell phone call from under canopy! Everyone thank D for the beer she’s gotta bring! The mains landed just off a main highway exit… 4 separate carloads pulled off the road to make sure I was OK, but I had already called the DZ by that point. Thanks to the concerned wuffo’s… if I hadn’t stood up my landing they really could have saved me. Someone called 911 and said a skydiver had gone in; I had to be interviewed by the state police and let them know that I had not, in fact, bounced. They were very interested to hear the story though… they wanted to know what kind of vitamins I take in the morning. All in all, we’re out 2 freebags and pilotchutes, but it could have been a lot worse. I can’t thank jumper B enough for the short conversation we had during the wrap because it probably saved both of our lives. I can’t tell all of you how happy I was to see him fall away from that mess. I made another jump today using borrowed gear to ease my head and I would recommend it to anyone after a cutaway. Thank you very much to the person who lent me the gear! I learned a lot this weekend… (edit 'cuz I'm not an english major)