What happened
On September 20, 2020, a student skydiver was performing a jump as part of an AFF 2 (Accelerated Freefall) training task. The freefall phase and the flight under the open parachute proceeded normally. However, during the approach to landing at the Chrcynno landing field (EPNC), the student initiated parachute braking too early. Following this, the student released the control lines, which resulted in a high vertical descent rate. The subsequent hard landing caused the student to suffer a lower limb injury. During the immediate aftermath of the impact, the student was unresponsive to radio commands issued by the supervising instructor.
The investigation
The investigation examined the sequence of the landing maneuver and the student's reaction to the instructor's instructions. The PKBWL established that the descent rate increased significantly due to the student's specific handling of the parachute controls during the final approach.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was improper landing technique, specifically characterized by braking the parachute too early and at too high an altitude.
- The student failed to correctly rectify the error once the parachute was braked, leading to the high-velocity impact.