Friday Freakout: Bag Lock Malfunction, Skydiver Holds Parachute Between Legs

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WHAT HAPPENED

Helicopter jumps are the best! (And that's coming from the writer who once caught his reserve handle on the skid! - watch that here: https://bit.ly/3DS6A5f) But on this help jump from ~4,000 feet, this skydiver deployed his main at around 2,500 feet... but nothing happened! Already low, the jumper went straight to his reserve. As his reserve deploys, the main canopy's deployment bag ended up coming down to him — so he grabbed it, then stowed it between his legs. He's in the saddle around 1,900 feet, lands safely, and promptly reports that he owes some beer!


WHY DID IT HAPPEN

Bag Lock

The jumper didn't tell us what caused this bag lock. However, generally speaking, there are quite a few factors than can cause one. A lot of them are packing related; for example, long line stows can catch and cinch on each other or an improper stow can get pulled into a grommet. Alternatively, they can happen due to poor gear maintenance, namely, an old worn our pilot chute that should have been replaced a long time ago.


HOW COULD IT BE PREVENTED

Attention to Detail

Again, a lot of bag locks result from a lack of diligence during packing, or due to folks not paying attention to basic gear maintenance. Both of these are failures that result from laziness. Keep those line stows short, replace your gear when it's getting worn out, and don't rush your packjobs!


ADDITIONAL NOTES

No Cutaway

This video is a bit on the longer side because we wanted to include the discussion the jumper had on the ground with a staff member from the DZ. They chatted about the fact that, rather than cutting away, the jumper went straight to his reserve. Admittedly, he was rather low and every second matters during a high speed malfunction. And at the end of the day, he did a great job saving his own life. However, he was also lucky that the main didn't deploy and entangle itself with the reserve... because that could have definitely been a bad day.

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