What happened
On April 12, 2015, at the Polska Nowa Wieś airfield (EPOP), a student skydiver was performing a jump from a PZL 101 Gawron operated by Aeroklub Opolski. After the aircraft climbed to 1,000 meters, leveled off, and reduced power, the pilot issued the commands to prepare for exit. The student correctly assumed the required position on the step, holding the strut with both hands.
Upon receiving the jump command, the student exited the aircraft but continued to hold onto the strut with both hands, hanging upside down. During this period, the deployment bag of the main parachute opened prematurely. The deploying parachute passed underneath the aircraft's right horizontal stabilizer. Despite the interference, the deployment process completed successfully, and the student landed safely at the airfield without injuries. Neither the aircraft nor the parachute sustained any damage.
The investigation
The investigation, conducted by the user's commission, examined the equipment used during the jump. The analysis focused on the deployment sequence and the physical characteristics of the deployment line (tether) used by the student. The investigation compared the specific line used in the incident to standard equipment used by the club.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the use of a deployment line that was too short for jumps performed from the PZL 101 Gawron.
- The deployment line used was only 2.50 meters long (measured from the carabiner to the pin), whereas the standard lines used by the club were 3.20 meters long, making the used line 70 cm shorter than usual.
- The shorter line was also noted as being atypical for the Telesis 2 harness/container system used by the skydiver.
- The reduced length caused the deployment process to initiate before the student had physically separated from the aircraft's strut, leading to the canopy's path intersecting with the horizontal stabilizer.