What happened
On June 27, 1997, during a skydiving training session at the Naarajärvi landing site in Pieksämäki, a student skydiver was injured during a descent. The jump was part of a planned formation exercise involving a jumpmaster and other students, departing from a Cessna 182 (registration OH-CCA).
During the freefall, the student transitioned into a forward glide at approximately 1,300 meters. At this stage, the student's visual altimeter had shifted or rotated, making the display unreadable. The student subsequently experienced a loss of altitude perception. Although an audible altimeter alert sounded at approximately 750–800 meters, the student did not react to the sound until approximately 400–450 meters.
Upon deploying the main canopy at this low altitude, the FXC 12,000 automatic activation device (AAD) triggered the deployment of the reserve parachute. The simultaneous deployment of both canopies at roughly 200 meters caused the parachutes to interfere with one another, creating a "down plane" configuration. This resulted in a rotational motion and an increased rate of descent. The student struck the ground while spinning, resulting in two spinal fractures.