It’s never just one thing that causes a skydiving injury, it’s always a series of events. The great benefit about recognising this, is that you only have to break one link in the chain to prevent the accident. Murphy’s Law applies even in freefall; it’s always the jumps where you end up low that you have a canopy problem. Avoiding pulling low could be breaking that link.
Stopping the chain though, requires active risk management, learning from errors of judgement, your own and others.
A very experienced jumper who’s a great canopy pilot shares his catalogue of errors in the hope we may absorb the lessons…
After a coaching jump with Tokke I had a reasonably low pull. I tried manipulating the opening by steering with my back risers but ended up throwing myself some twists. As I was already low I didn’t have time to fight the malfunction so decided to chop.
During the reserve ride I caught the freebag which I don’t recommend anyone trying. Confused by the amount of drag the pilot chute generated, instead of letting go, I landed my reserve by flaring both toggles with one hand.
Everything ended well but this jump I consistently made bad decisions. I was unsure if I wanted to post this video because of the reactions it will bring. But I believe in showing people my mistakes so other people can learn from it.
Lessons learned:
- pull higher
- don’t use back risers during snivel
- let your gear land on its own
- focus on landing the reserve safely
