1 Matches (out of a total of 833 incidents)
  1. Date Location Category Age # Jumps AAD?/RSL? Dropzone.com Report Dropzone.com Discussion
    03/06/2000 Lake Tahoe, CA MAL,DMAL 43 356 Y/Y    
    Description: The deceased was from another drop zone and was doing speed dives all day. The Pro-Track indicated that on his final jump, he did two attempts for speed, reaching about 300 mph, and then went for a third on the same dive. During this attempt it appears that he lost altitude awareness. He flattened and pulled his main which appeared to have a pilot chute in tow malfunction. He was using a bungee-style pilot chute. Almost immediately, probably recognizing his low altitude, he fired his reserve. Still traveling faster than normal freefall, his reserve slammed open at 1000', breaking 4 lines. The 2 center cell A-lines, the right center cell B-Line, and a right C-line second from the end all failed at the line attachment bar tack. A two-foot section of the right load-bearing rib (second from the end) failed at the D-line attachment. The broken C-line entangled with the right control line producing the fatal spin. The right rear grommet on the slider showed damage (it was partially pried open) suggesting that the slider was involved. The outboard right A-line attachment was damaged but did not fail. He then tried to fly the canopy all the way until impact. He was med-evac'd from the scene. During surgery on his ruptured spleen, he died of internal bleeding. He had other injuries as well, including a collapsed lung and a torn aorta. He weighed 225 without gear and was jumping a 181 reserve. The ProTrack indicated his airspeed at 145mph at pull time. His reserve was rated to 172mph and 202lbs; he was therefore significantly overloading the reserve, by perhaps 25% of the rated loading. Witnesses report the reserve, when it opened, sounded like a cannon going off. His CYPRES was on and did not fire. One witness reports that he had mentioned that his altimeter was not functioning well at high speed -- this has not been corroborated.
    Lessons:A nominal estimate of this person's exit weight is 250lbs; this is significantly over the maximum rated weight for the reserve. This excessive loading was the likely primary cause of reserve failure. There are two secondary issues. First, the higher-than-normal deployment altitude (Skydive Lake Tahoe is located at 4960'MSL) places greater forces on the parachute at opening . Second, the slightly higher-than-normal deployment speed (145mph vs. 110mph) also increased the load on the parachute. It is also worth noting that "Speed" dives are a relatively new thing in skydiving. They present substantial new risks, particularly because gear is being placed into situations for which it was simply not necessarily designed. If you choose to participate in these activities, you should be aware you are taking additional risks. Keep in mind, at 300MPH and 3000ft, you are less than 7 seconds from the ground. Worse yet, you'll need to take most of that time just to slow down so that you can deploy without destroying your canopy or yourself due to the opening shock.
    USPA Description: This jumper was attempting to maximize hi sdescent in a head-down dive, using an audible altimeter and telemetry device to record his speed. He discontinued the dive only slightly above deployment altitude and was still descending at 190 mph going through 2,000 feet. He activated his main parachute system, but his main pilot chute towed behind him without deploying the main parachute.

    He deployed his reserve parachute at 1,000 feet, still traveling very fast. The reserve suffered structural damage and broken lines, resulting in an uncontrollable spin. The landing resulted in a broken leg, and internal injuries. The jumper died during surgery from internal bleeding.
    USPA Conclusions:This skydive took place at a field elevation of 5,000 feet MSL, meaning the jumper deployed his reserve at approximately 6,000 feet MSL. Reserves are tested at sea level drop zones where the opening forces are not as high.

    The jumper reportedly weighed 225 pounds with gear, but his reserve was limited to a maximum suspended load (at sea level) of 202 pounds.

    This jumper was engaged in a high-speed maneuver down to an altitude that did not allow sufficient time to slow down for deployment. The combination of high altitude, high deployment speed and excessive suspended weight proved to be more than the reserve parachute could handle. This parachute had a top skin constructed of zero-permeability fabric.

    Jumpers need to be aware that exceeding the rated deployment spee dor maximum suspended weight of a canopy increases the chance of equipment failure. Precautions must be made to prevent premature openings and to allow plenty of time to lsow down before deployment.
    Name Ken Kensen