Newcomers Make Their Debut in Skydiving Competition

In the world of skydiving, safety is paramount. Here are some important lessons that have been highlighted by recent incidents, serving as a reminder for all skydivers to maintain vigilance and adhere to proper procedures.

Last year, Skydive Arizona experienced two inadvertent reserve rides due to floating cutaway handles, which occurred between February 26 and March 3, 2019. The first incident involved a jumper dislodging his cutaway handle while climbing out onto the camera step, while in the second case, two freeflying jumpers bounced off each other, dislodging one jumper's cutaway handle.

These incidents underscore the importance of protecting all operation handles, especially during unconventional exits such as horny gorillas, sit-trains, hot dogs, tubes, and flipping to hang from the under-tailgate bar on the Skyvan. These exits have a higher chance of dislodging handles.

Moreover, hybrids involving harness grips taken in freefall increase the risk of dislodged handles. Skydivers are advised to ensure they are making maneuvers so that ground crew members know they are conscious.

At the 2016 Nationals at SDAZ, visiting 4-way teams experienced surprise reserve deployments due to jostling. This highlights the need for awareness and caution during group jumps.

Another factor to consider is the condition of the equipment. A worn main closing loop can break, leading to a horseshoe malfunction, while worn out elastic on the Bag-O-Chutes (BOC) can allow the pilot chute to creep free. Worn Velcro on emergency handles makes it easier for handles to be knocked free.

Remember that wingsuiters and trackers are also flying off the normal jump-run, and you may now be in their airspace. If you have a premature reserve (or main) deployment, it's crucial to fly your canopy off the jump-run. At SDAZ, that means flying east or west to get off the line of flight, out of the path of other jumpers in freefall from your load or the loads after you.

If you discover your cutaway handle has been pulled in freefall, finish the cutaway. You're not going to be able to re-thread the cables in freefall and you don't want to have your main still attached to you by one riser when you deploy your reserve.

During multi-floater climb-outs (particularly during bigways with 5 or more people), it's important to ensure that you and the other jumpers aren't scraping handles against each other. This can be particularly problematic in situations where loose, floppy hackey handles can draw the pilot chute free.

Lastly, it's essential to watch for other high-opening canopies and get down to a normal deployment altitude as quickly as possible. A viral video from the 2018 Pepe's Island Panama Boogie shows jumpers preventing a premature deployment by catching a camera flyer's reserve pilot chute.

Properly-sized reserve closing loops are under about 40 lbs of pressure. About a month before, in mid-January, a jumper's D-ring reserve handle hung free, but was noticed by a fellow skydiver before deployment.

In the spirit of safety, it's also worth mentioning that do not linger above 4000 feet if you have a premature reserve (or main) deployment.

These incidents serve as a reminder for all skydivers to maintain vigilance and adhere to proper procedures. By doing so, we can continue to enjoy this thrilling sport while minimising risks.