Max Ciccarelli learned to look at his brakes before taking the reins of control, here’s why…

I had a totally avoidable cutaway and thought I would share in case it helps someone else. 

Lesson

Before un-stowing your toggles look to make sure everything is in order.

What happened

The bottom of my right toggle and the excess line had come un-stowed and the toggle found its way through the loop of excess line.  When it was time to un-stow my toggles, I just reached up and pulled without paying much attention. If I had taken a second to look at the toggles (after clearing my airspace, of course) before pulling on them, I would have seen the problem and could have easily fixed it.  

Instead I got a knot that I was unable to untie before I had to cut away. The really stupid part is that I realized that it had come partially un-stowed – it just did not occur to me to make sure the toggle had not gone through the excess line.

In the photo above, you can see that the toggle found its way through the loop of excess line. And you can see my fingers about to open the toggle so that I can grab it. Had I taken two seconds to focus on the situation, I could easily have solved the issue before it became a problem.

Altitude is our best friend whatever incident we have in this sport! 

Another good reminder

I also remembered why it’s a terrible idea not to un-stow your brakes immediately after opening. It would have been bad to have this incident 900 feet above the ground, for reasons that are easily understandable. Altitude is our best friend, whatever incident we have in this sport! 

In any event, I hope it helps someone else prevent an avoidable cutaway.

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Thanks to Max Ciccarelli for sharing this event in the Skydive Spaceland Spaceland Dallas New Jumpers group

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Don’t miss the chance to read, or read again, some of our best safety articles:

• Danger Zone – by Lesley Gale
• Complacency is the Enemy – by Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld
• Malfunction Flowchart – by Julian Barthel
• Community Eyes – by Simon Brentford
• The Four Stages of Competence – by Matt Gerdes
• 1000 jump NIRVANA – by Lesley Gale
• Fashion can Kill – by Bill Booth
• What is your Decide and Act Altitude? – by Julian Barthel