What happened
On June 4, 2016, a skydiver with 260 previous jumps performed a descent from an altitude of 1,500 meters. At approximately 1,000 meters, the individual initiated the deployment of a Sabre2 190 main parachute. The canopy inflation was noted as being extremely dynamic. Immediately following inflation, while the slider was still in the process of collapsing, the parachute began to rotate violently to the right. In response to the uncontrolled rotation, the skydiver cut away the main canopy and deployed the reserve parachute, subsequently landing on the usable portion of the Pruszcz Gdański (EPPR) airfield.
The investigation
The investigation examined the equipment and the deployment sequence. An inspection of the main canopy did not reveal any structural defects or specific causes that would explain the hard opening or the subsequent rotation. Investigators focused on the deployment preparation, noting that the skydiver had personally packed the parachute for this jump. The investigation considered whether the slider had been properly seated against the limit lines during the packing process.
Findings
- The primary cause of the hard opening was a packing error involving the slider, which may not have been pulled down to the limit lines during the preparation of the parachute.
- The rotation of the canopy may have been caused by the formation of knots in the lines, which subsequently untied themselves after the main canopy was cut away.
Safety action
Following the incident, the jump organizer reviewed the event with other skydivers, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining extreme care and diligence during all phases of parachute packing.