What happened
On May 28, 2015, a student skydiver with 120 jumps performed a descent from an altitude of 4,000 meters. The deployment of the Navigator 200 parachute from the aircraft was successful, and the initial freefall phase proceeded without issue. However, while at an altitude of approximately 500 meters, the student induced a stall of the parachute canopy. Following the stall, the student released the control lines abruptly or asymmetrically, which resulted in line twists.
In response to the malfunction, the student executed emergency procedures by cutting away the main canopy and deploying the reserve parachute. The student landed safely on the operational area of the Kazimierz Biskupi (EPKB) aerodrome.
The investigation
The investigation examined the student's recent training history and the sequence of maneuvers leading to the malfunction. It was established that the student had participated in a canopy piloting course just weeks prior, which included instruction on recovering from stalls. A key safety protocol from that training required that any maneuvers involving stalls be performed at an altitude of at least 1,000 meters—at least 200 meters above the reserve deployment altitude.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the incorrect recovery from the parachute stall.
- The student performed the stall maneuver at an altitude of approximately 500 meters, which was significantly below the safety threshold of 1,000 meters established during training.
- The abrupt or asymmetrical release of the control lines during the recovery attempt directly caused the line twists.