Every skydiver has their own preferences when it comes to different techniques. There’s no single correct way to pack a parachute. All Perris Skydiving Program students learn to care for their equipment and look out for indications of a possible malfunction on their next jump as part of their initial training.Ĭorrect and careful packing procedures are also crucial. That “lifesaving” part happens to be a great motivator. Parachute owners know full well that it’s important to inspect and care for every bit of lifesaving equipment that comes along on a skydive to make sure there are no issues. There are a lot of parts to every parachute system, and most of those parts are crucial to proper function. A successful and safe parachute deployment depends on a few different factors, all of which are completely within the control of the parachute owner.įirst, rigorous equipment maintenance. In this context, the word “malfunction” refers to a scenario that might prevent the successful deployment of a flyable parachute. What happens if you pass out while skydiving? The AAD will fire your reserve parachute, giving you much higher chances of survival. This system is called an AAD, for Automatic Activation Device. Interesting fact: the backup parachute is hooked up to a system that deploys it automatically in the one-in-a-million scenario that nobody lifts a finger to get it out. They’ve trained for this and have probably even been through it before! They want to get to the ground as safely as you do, so just follow their lead! That said, if you do happen to notice the hiccup, stay calm and listen to your instructor. The process is so quick and seamless that many tandem skydiving students that experience a reserve ride don’t even know it happened. A handle on the left side (the ‘reserve handle’) deploys the carefully packed reserve parachute to take the place of the main that didn’t feel like doing its job that day. If the main parachute turns out to be unsafe to fly, a quick pull of a handle located on the right side of the skydiver’s chest disconnects the malfunctioning nylon – we call it the ‘cutaway handle’ (hence the 2000 movie title). When a parachute can’t be safely controlled back to the ground, the jumper has to immediately follow a set of tried-and-true emergency procedures to fix the situation.Įvery skydiving parachute has a backup parachute waiting in the wings. What almost certainly did happen is that the parachute opened, but wasn’t safe to fly. That’s the one thing a parachute is made to do! The phrase that almost always gets tossed around when you hear about a skydiving accident on the news is that the skydiver’s parachute “failed to open.” In reality, it’s practically statistically impossible that the parachute actually didn’t open. Is it possible to survive if the parachute doesn’t open? Not only is it possible, it’s extremely likely! What Happens If A Parachute Doesn’t Open? What you might not know is all of the resources skydivers have to mitigate that risk. Of course, skydiving does carry risk you know that already. Secondly: even if your parachute actually does fail to open into that familiar flyable configuration, you’re still almost certainly going to be fine. First off: a ratio of 1:1000 is ridiculously rare in terms of the real world. If that statistic has you clutching the ground for dear life, wait just a second. Line over malfunction on a square parachute. According to the USPA (which collects and publishes skydiving accident statistics), about one in every 1,000 parachutes will experience a malfunction that requires the use of the reserve parachute. The truth of the matter is, a skydiving cutaway is a rare event. So, what happens if the parachute doesn’t open? Or worse, what happens if both parachutes fail? Especially if you’re scheduled to make your own skydive. And those are the ones that stick in your mind. Over and over again, you hear that signature snap, and a bright nylon rectangle appears, lowering the jumper safely to the ground.īut – in this current age of sensationalism – you’ve probably also seen plenty of jump videos that feature a skydiving malfunction (or what people seem to think about a parachute not opening). At this point, you’ve probably watched enough skydiving videos to witness dozens of parachutes blossom open against the big, blue sky.
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