Naval Cadet Dies During Practice After Parachute Fails to Open

[Pyramid_Head]

Damn, that poor guy. That had to be terrifying the whole way down. At least it was an instant death.

[CombatVet]

I was a paratrooper and have 12 jumps from a UH-60 (Black Hawk) and am still a licensed skydiver and jump several times a year. Exiting a helicopter is a little different than jumping from an aircraft. The static lines (that deploy the parachute) are longer than they are for aircraft in airborne operations. It did not appear that he attempted to deploy his reserve, of which he would have had only a couple of seconds to do once realizing an issue with his main canopy.

Its also important to note that if he was a cadet, his experience was likely limited in the first place. Assuming he had his wings (graduated airborne school and this wasn't airborne school we were witnessing, the window of opportunity realize a malfunction and take action was very small in the first place.

There isn't much confidence among paratroopers that reserve parachutes will actually save your life in the event of a malfunction. His fate was likely sealed the moment he left the skid of the helicopter

[Killgaad]

Originally Posted by CombatVet

There isn't much confidence among paratroopers that reserve parachutes will actually save your life in the event of a malfunction.

Could you kindly elaborate on this please, in a detailed fashion, as to why. Thank you.

[Brownboybilly]

Did he receive his wings?

[pinballwiz]

Originally Posted by Brownboybilly

Did he receive his wings?

No, the chico got his boat anchor.

[MamaGonFishin]

Poor soul. I have all respect for military. Just a kid doing something for his country. Sad.

[joos]

In a positive light, he won the race to the ground.

[CombatVet]

Originally Posted by Killgaad

Could you kindly elaborate on this please, in a detailed fashion, as to why. Thank you.

Certainly, several reasons actually. The first is the amount of time to deploy a reserve and the limitations on the equipment. During a static line jump we are taught immediately upon exiting to count to 4 thousand and then check for a canopy. 4 seconds after jumping and youre more than halfway to the ground. The reserve itself is a smaller parachute but otherwise not modified to deploy any quicker and doesnt have the benefit of being attached by a static line.

This jump actually took place at an altitude (1200 ft AGL) that is about 20-30% higher than typical airborne operations (800ft AGL) but after 5-6 seconds after leaving the bird, look at how little time he would have had to save his life by deploying a reserve.

The #1 thing that is emphasized in jump school (and this cannot be emphasized enough) is that your hand is kept on your reserve at all times when in the aircraft to prevent deployment but mainly to become muscle memory that your hand is to be on your reserve at all times. The fact that he did not pull his reserve is extremely remarkable to me which I believe didn't happen either due to lack of training (he likely had less than 10 jumps total being a cadet) or its even possible that they didn't have one to begin with. There are some countries that do not jump with reserve parachutes.

Full streamers like that as so rare and strictly a result of a bad pack job. I mean theyre so rare that occurences of them are almost unheard of. The rigger's information is somewhere on that parachute and I would imagine that theyll find that the person that packed the chute was relatively new. No experienced rigger would have made that big of an error as to cause a streamer like that.

[Killgaad]

Originally Posted by CombatVet

Certainly, several reasons actually. The first is the amount of time to deploy a reserve and the limitations on the equipment. During a static line jump we are taught immediately upon exiting to count to 4 thousand and then check for a canopy. 4 seconds after jumping and youre more than halfway to the ground. The reserve itself is a smaller parachute but otherwise not modified to deploy any quicker and doesnt have the benefit of being attached by a static line.

This jump actually took place at an altitude (1200 ft AGL) that is about 20-30% higher than typical airborne operations (800ft AGL) but after 5-6 seconds after leaving the bird, look at how little time he would have had to save his life by deploying a reserve.

The #1 thing that is emphasized in jump school (and this cannot be emphasized enough) is that your hand is kept on your reserve at all times when in the aircraft to prevent deployment but mainly to become muscle memory that your hand is to be on your reserve at all times. The fact that he did not pull his reserve is extremely remarkable to me which I believe didn't happen either due to lack of training (he likely had less than 10 jumps total being a cadet) or its even possible that they didn't have one to begin with. There are some countries that do not jump with reserve parachutes.

Full streamers like that as so rare and strictly a result of a bad pack job. I mean theyre so rare that occurences of them are almost unheard of. The rigger's information is somewhere on that parachute and I would imagine that theyll find that the person that packed the chute was relatively new. No experienced rigger would have made that big of an error as to cause a streamer like that.

Thank you again for your eloquent, in-depth explanation of these specialized, profoundly technical aspects of this craft.

Much obliged and respect.

[THECLUTCH]

1000! 2000! 3000! 4000! check! up ! he didn't followed procedure?