This skydiver had a sketchy off-DZ landing into a small residential backyard surrounded by fences and trees, which was a little more excitement than he was hoping for with only 230 jumps under his belt. So, what happened? This jumper was at a dropzone where there are assigned jumpmasters who check the spot and approve the exit location. Trusting the jumpmaster, he and his buddy didn’t check the spot and exited as directed.

Once under canopy, the jumper realized how far he was from the dropzone and that he was flying into the wind. From 3,000 ft to 2,400 ft,, he kept trying to figure out if he could get to the DZ. At 2,400 ft he picked an off-landing site, but at 1,800 ft realized he couldn’t make it and chose somewhere else. At 900 ft he realized he wasn’t going to make his second choice and he was forced to make a last second attempt to land in residential backyard (let’s call it a small garden).

He had a rough landing due to an early flare, but he just sprained his ankle. Whew!

Why did it happen

Target fixation

The jumper was fixated on the dropzone and really wanted to land there. As a result, he ignored how much push he was getting from the wind and made a few bad decisions as he got lower and lower. This fixation was so strong that it also made him forget his landing priorities.

Bad wind reading?

The individual said, “the jumpmaster misread the wind by about 180 degrees” and that there was “some miscommunication with the pilot” resulting in the “airplane flying downwind relative to the landing area and quite far away from it.” If that’s the case, it sounds like two experienced individuals both made a mistake when they checked the winds.

Not checking your own spot and not knowing the winds

The jumper didn’t check the spot and must not have known the winds aloft because – if he did – he should have said something about getting out in a spot on the wrong end of the dropzone.

How could it be prevented

Remember Your Landing Priorities!

This jumper admits that he was focused on getting to the dropzone and landing into the wind. Effectively, he prioritized the fourth landing priority (land into the wind) ahead of the second landing priority (land in a clear area)! He would have been far safer turning around, aiming his canopy at the massive open fields behind him and sliding in a downwind landing.

Check the winds

Before you get on the plane, you should check the winds aloft to have an idea about how strong the push is going to be.

Check the spot

Before you get out of the plane, you should check the spot – never trust someone else.

Consider the spot relative to the wind

Combine your knowledge of the winds with the spot you’re looking at and think about where you’re getting out. Ask yourself a few questions. Are you on a huge canopy? Is getting out going to result in you getting pushed so hard that it’s impossible to get back to the dropzone?

Additional Notes

Wind shift

One additional possibility is that the winds shifted while these jumpers were in the air – some dropzone locations are notorious for this. Given that both the pilot and an experienced jumpmaster evidently didn’t realize how strong the push was, we think there’s a possibility that this may have been the case here.

The post Sketchy Skydive Landing In Small Residential Backyard appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

During an AFF jump, both instructors lose their student shortly after exit and they had a difficult time getting back to the unstable student. One of the instructors reaches the student but was unable to regain control of the student’s body. At that point, the student thought he had lost both instructors so he followed his training and attempted to deploy his main canopy… but the bridle wrapped around his neck! Luckily the instructor was still holding on to the student and helped clear the bridle for the main canopy to open.

Why did it happen

Poor exit & lack of control

An experienced AFF-I and AFF-I Examiner both viewed this video and pointed out that the issues began with a poor exit. The set up in the door leaves the main-side instructor in a poor situation and initiates the chain of events. The issues are magnified when both instructors let go of the student. The main-side instructor then finds themselves unable to get down to the student while the reserve-side instructor is unable to stabilize him.

How could it be prevented

Relearning AFF-I Basics

The individuals who consulted on this video analysis believe these instructors made many fundamental errors. The exit was messy with far too much room between the main-side instructor and the student, the main-side instructor appears to have not been holding onto the student’s grippers before then being unable to get down to the student, and the reserve-side instructor could not stabilize him. These are all basic skills which an AFF-I should be capable of. Further, the release of the student by both instructors is a major error which should have not been allowed to occur.

Additional Note

The student, while admittedly unstable, did an admirable job following his training and – upon finding himself without his instructors – began attempting to stabilize and deploy his main. Notably, at the time of his deployment he did not realize an instructor had caught back up to him and was attempting to flip him.

The post Parachute Bridle Wraps Around AFF Student’s Neck appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

Wow, this was so close to being a really bad day for this tandem. As the Tandem Instructor was moving towards the door, his reserve parachute deployed in the plane! Fortunately, the videographer saw it, grabbed it, and another TI helped control the situation. The door was immediately closed, the reserve was passed forward, and the plane landed with no further incident.

Why did it happen

Snag hazards

The submission details noted that they believe the TI snagged his reserve on the door track while he was moving forward from the bench.

How could it be prevented

Protect your container

Snag hazards are common on every aircraft and all jumpers should be aware of them. Every skydiver, from an AFF student to the most experienced examiner, needs to make sure that they aware of their surroundings and that their containers do not rub up against something that could dislodge a pin, snag a cable, or pull a handle.

Additional Notes

Good job guys

This could have been a very bad day. But instead, thanks to staff members who were heads-up and reacted quickly, it just resulted in a plane ride back to the ground. The videographer on that front float was paying attention to everything that was going on, saw the threat and reacted instantly. The second TI, an S&TA, quickly alerted everyone to the situation and directed them to get the TI back into the plane, close the door, and pass the reserve forward towards the nose of the plane.

The post Tandem Skydive’s Reserve Pops Open In Plane Door appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

This was a two-stage 8 way hybrid that was seemingly going well, but it exploded on the second stage just before break-off. Most of the jumpers did a decent job tracking off but when this jumper deployed, they see their buddy plummet past them at a dangerously close proximity. Fortunately, there was no impact, and the jumper was able to fly his canopy away from the other jumper.

Why did it happen

“Lower jumper has the right of way”

The jumper whose POV we’re viewing told us that he didn’t realize one of the other jumpers had tracked above him. This opens a big can of worms but, ultimately, the lower jumper has the right of way and the individual above him should have altered their track to not be on top of him. Why that didn’t happen is conjecture but the most common reason for this type of incident is that the higher jumper was simply not paying attention to what was below him.

How could it be prevented

Don’t Track Above Someone / Pay Attention!

Obviously, had the higher jumper paid closer attention to what was occurring below him, they could have just adjusted their vector to get away from the jumper below. Being above someone during breakoff is a bad idea given that – if they deploy suddenly – you could end up eating their canopy and impacting at high speed.

Check Your Airspace

The jumper whose POV we’re viewing didn’t check their airspace. That’s an issue because, while he was able to see where 5 jumpers went after breakoff, there were 2 jumpers whose positions he did not know. This group wasn’t THAT big, and everyone was on level at breakoff, so knowing where everyone went shouldn’t be that hard.

Wave Off!

The reason that we are taught to wave off is so that, should someone accidentally be right above us, they know that we are about to pitch and potentially deploy a canopy into their face. Admittedly, the jumper above them shouldn’t be in that space in the first place, but if they see someone waving off, they at least know that they are in a very dangerous spot and can try to either deploy immediately or get the heck away.

Additional Notes

Someone below you? Pitch IF you can!

If you happen to be in a situation where you’re tracking away from everyone and see that one of your buddies is directly below you – AND you know for a fact where everyone else went/know that there is no way that someone is above you – pitch right then and there! In that situation, deploying immediately – if you’re already at an appropriate altitude and know for a fact that no one is above you – is a safe move that will immediately create vertical separation between you and the jumper beneath you, as well as give them time to continue tracking away from you to create horizontal separation. 

The post Skydivers Have Dangerously Close Parachute Opening appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

Video by Olivier Provost

The post Skyvan Weekend 2021 // Skydive Ontario appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

A jumper with 330 jumps – only 6 of which were on this canopy – was doing a demo jump, with a flag, into a very small landing area, that was surrounded by trees on all sides. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!?! The jumper tried to fly between two trees, clipped a tree branch, almost hit a member of the ground crew, and miraculously walked away without a scratch. In his words, “the only damage I received was to my own pride.”

Why did it happen

Inexperience (General)

This jumper was doing a jump he was not ready for. There are a LOT of considerations which go into demonstration jumps like this one. A jumper with only 330 jumps cannot be expected to understand them all, let alone plan and/or react accordingly.

Inexperience (Canopy)

This jumper had only 6 jumps on that canopy — ever. He wasn’t experienced enough to be flying it under these circumstances. USPA Regulations, for example, require a PRO rated jumper to have 5 jumps within the previous 60 days using the model and size canopy they want to use on a demo into this type of landing area.

Poor Oversight

Whoever signed off on this skydiver participating in this jump made a poor decision. It’s the responsibility of experienced jumpers to tell newer skydivers that they are simply not ready to attempt certain activities within the sport.

Poor Planning

This jumper noted that the group did a site visit the day before the jump but he “did not look at it thoroughly enough to remember that that tree was there.” This was almost certainly another factor that led to this incident.

How could it be prevented

Regulations

This jump occurred overseas – we don’t know where, so don’t ask – but USPA rules are an example of the types of restrictions that should be placed on such jumps. Under USPA regulations, this would have likely qualified as a stadium landing area, “A Level 2 landing area smaller than 150 yards in length by 80 yards in width and bounded on two or more sides by bleachers, walls, or buildings in excess of 50 feet high.” To jump into a stadium landing area, a USPA jumper needs to have a PRO Rating; a certification used to identify highly proficient jumpers who are accurate in canopy control.

Canopy Instruction

When the jumper submitted this video, they noted that they were flying in brakes to get into position and when they let up on their toggles to resume full flight, the canopy dove much steeper than they expected. This portion of a flight cycle is discussed in nearly every canopy course. The jumper’s surprise at the canopy’s dive when he let up on the toggles suggests he needed more canopy instruction and a better understanding of canopy dynamics.

Bonus Points

Okay… we’ll admit that karate kicking the @#$% out of that branch was kind of cool… but landing safely in front of a crowd of non-jumpers is a lot cooler.

The post Demo Jump Fail, Skydiver Karate Kicks Tree Branch & Bounces Off Ground appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

While jumping with an experienced coach, this skydiver had a premature opening in close proximity to the coach as he was fighting an unstable body position to stick his sit fly. The preemie was caused by a loose BOC, but the canopy deployed cleanly — albeit a little snappy — and the jumper landed safely.

Why did it happen

Loose BOC (Bottom of Container)

During a very quick inspection on the ground, a rigger said the spandex in the BOC looked fine. A few weeks later the same coach saw the jumper boarding a plane in a tracking suit and thought their pilot chute was sneaking out of their BOC. He relayed word up the plane and had the jumper perform a gear check. During this gear check, the jumper found their pilot chute almost completely out of their BOC. A closer inspection of his BOC after the second incident confirmed that it was loose.

Lack of Gear Maintenance

As a container is used, jumps are going to take their toll. Jumpers are taught to look for certain signs of wear-and-tear but, during ground school, that’s largely limited to major items such as closing loops. However, loose BOC’s are a relatively common factor in premature deployments. It’s an issue that skydivers are not really taught to look for and, unless someone takes the time to tell a jumper to look out for it, it may go unnoticed.

How could it be prevented

Gear Checks & Awareness

There is no way to tell if, before the jump in this video, the jumper did their gear checks properly. However – while on the plane on the next jump – the coach witnessed this jumper’s pilot chute sneaking out of the BOC. We don’t believe in coincidence, so this suggests that this jumper was performing poor gear checks. The alternative is that they were not aware of their container rubbing against various surfaces (e.g. door frame) and on multiple jumps their pilot chute was dislodged while they were boarding or exiting the plane.

Additional Notes

Staying on Level

A tangential kudos goes out to the jumper who, when the preemie happened, immediately went to their back and tried to get the hell away from the group. They probably reacted to an emergency by wanting to create distance from the rest of the group; not a bad move. Alternatively, seeing someone deploy may have made them think that they had lost altitude awareness. Either way, they didn’t screw around and made a smart move. Even more impressive however, when they realized that they were not at breakoff yet, that jumper went into a stand to try to get back on level with the rest of the jump. They appear to have wanted to ensure that, when the group hit breakoff altitude, everyone would be on level. Nice work!

The post Skydiver Has Snappy Premature Parachute Opening While Sit Flying appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

This skydiver noticed he was dangerously close to the group ahead of him (now below him), so he pitched while trying to throw on the brakes with his body. The deployment was messy and the bridle wrapped around his foot. He then, “went directly to reserve without chopping because I figured the main was still in the d-bag in the container and I wanted to prevent a snag hazard with the risers.” The reserve deployed clean, he tried to cutaway the main, but it was still snagged on his foot. He then tried to use a hook knife to get rid of it, but he dropped the knife. With the main dragging behind him he had too much drag to get to the dropzone, and having lost altitude awareness, the jumper was forced to try to land in a wooded area with a small clearing. Fortunately, he was able to land between the trees and was, ultimately, uninjured.

Why did it happen

(The initial malfunction) Poor body position

As this jumper points out, upon seeing the group beneath him, he “applied deep brakes with my body to prevent entering their airspace. That set me up for a deployment with my feet very close to the rig.” This body position likely created a burble, which prevented a clean deployment and tossed the bridle into his feet.

(The proximity) The other group’s poor situational awareness

The jumper was wearing a Flysight and stated that the data showed that his group didn’t move much other than due to wind drift. He also stated that his video shows that, on a day with 4-6 seconds of separation, his group gave 8 seconds. That suggests that the group before them likely moved into their air space because they weren’t paying attention to whether they were moving up or down jump run.

(The snag) Out of Sequence Emergency Procedures

By not following the intended sequence for emergency procedures (cutaway first, then pull reserve) this jumper may have contributed to the process through which the main entangled around their foot. Having the reserve out, before cutting away, eliminated the possibility of the main having a chance to unsnag itself when the jumper went back into freefall for a moment.

How could it be prevented

Body position

Every packer in the world is going to be nodding their heads to this, but in this situation the body position was very likely to blame. We understand that the jumper was panicked due to his close proximity to other group below him, but had he gotten back into that good, stable, belly deployment position, this incident would have simply been about groups tracking into each other’s air space, and not about the bridle wrap.

Additional Notes

Altitude Awareness

This jumper lost all altitude awareness and didn’t look at his altimeter once while fighting through this malfunction. He stated that, “I tried to go for the dropzone but I had too much drag behind me to reach it.” However, based on the video, it looks like he thought about that aspect of the situation pretty far into the incident. Had he maintained altitude awareness he could have, potentially, made the decision to aim for the DZ earlier and been able to make it.

The post Terrifying Malfunction, Skydiver Lands With Parachute Wrapped Around Feet! appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

While deploying the main canopy, this skydiver realized they were at a higher altitude than expected and decided to hold on to their pilot chute for a few seconds to burn some altitude before completing the deployment. The bridle wrapped itself around the pilot chute as it danced in the wind and the pilot chute was unable to fully inflate once they finally released it, which briefly caused a pilot chute in tow before catching enough air to deploy the main. During the deployment, it appears the jumper panicked and almost entangled themselves in the lines, followed by a hard opening. Ouch.

Why did it happen

Delayed release of the pilot chute

This incident was due to the jumper holding their pilot chute rather than just letting go of it. Once they pulled it out of their BOC, that also pulled out quite a bit of the bridle. With all that bridle flopping around it was almost inevitable that the pilot chute would entangle and kill itself.

How could it be prevented

Pitch all the way or don’t pitch at all

Once you’ve pulled your pilot chute out of your BOC, don’t hold on to it. And, if “for some reason” you’re going to do this, don’t let it go in the small of your back (lower back); at least extend your arm out and get it out of your burble. Letting your PC go in your burble is just asking for trouble.

Additional Notes

Special Circumstances

We added a caveat about “for some reason” because we have seen one or two experienced jumpers on very high-performance canopies who do this on hop and pops. The argument could be made that they do so to ensure perfect body symmetry during deployment. Notably, when they do it, they keep their arm out and away from their burble. Either way, unless you’re at that level, there’s no reason to hold on to your PC.

Degloving Injuries

Many military static-line jumpers can tell you about the horror that is a degloving injury. It’s what happens when a line wraps around a limb, a canopy deploys, then the line pinches down and leaves nothing behind but the bones. As this jumper’s canopy was deploying, they rolled over and got caught in the lines, making this type of injury possible. Just one more reason to make sure you do everything you can to have a clean deployment.

The post Skydiver Entangled With Parachute & Slammed By Hard Opening appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.

Video by Olivier Provost & Dawson Hinton

The post Ballistic 2021 // Skydive Burnaby appeared first on TEEM | #JoinTheTeem.