What happened
On September 25, 2015, a highly experienced skydiver with approximately 1,150 jumps was performing a tandem jump at the Mirosławice landing field (EPMR). During the descent from 4,000 meters, the skydiver filmed the jump. Following a standard deployment at approximately 1,400 meters, the skydiver noticed that the three-ring release system on the right risers was twisted and entangled with the Reserve Release System (RSL) webbing. Additionally, the yellow deployment handle was visibly pulled tight.
The twisted hardware caused the Spectre 170 canopy to spin spontaneously. While the skydiver attempted to correct the twist by pulling the risers, the malfunction persisted. At an altitude of approximately 700–650 meters, the skydiver activated both the main canopy cutaway and the reserve deployment handles almost simultaneously. While the left side of the release system functioned correctly, the right side remained jammed, preventing the main canopy from fully separating. This caused the reserve canopy to become entangled with the main canopy during its deployment.
Through active manipulation of the lines, the skydver managed to untangle the reserve canopy and eventually triggered the release of the main canopy. After discarding the reserve deployment bag, the skydiver completed the descent and landed safely at the landing field.
The investigation
An investigation into the equipment revealed that the Spectre 170 canopy had been fitted with "mini ring" (narrow) riser webbing, whereas the components permanently attached to the harness were the "large ring" version. This mismatch in the three-ring release system components was the primary source of the malfunction.
Further examination showed that the RSL webbing was routed incorrectly according to the manufacturer's requirements, causing it to be under tension. While the mechanic who last inspected the gear stated they had not performed a swap from wide to narrow risers, the investigation concluded that the error likely occurred during a previous inspection on April 17, 2015, and went unnoticed.