Hook Knives Mounted In Plane

[tdog 0]

The show, "Secrets To Survival: Skydiver", which my TiVo just recorded due to the keyword Skydiver, was recently discussed in the General forum...

(Troy Hartman host - reenacting a real life situation where a skydiver's bootie gets caught on the step of the plane, and the plane ends up landing with the skydiver hanging upside down... The content of the incident is old news to many.)


There is a lesson... The plane (in addition to the skydivers) should have a hook knife...

Every load I have been on, I have seen other jumpers with knives... But, I never have seen one strapped to the plane someplace where anyone (pilot, non-jumping rider, fellow skydiver) could find it and use it... And I have been to 7 DZs in the last year... Not to say there wasn't one hidden away someplace, but, I never have seen them.

The pilot says clearly that he was able to reach the skydiver's foot while flying, and was using a pen to try to cut the suit, but couldn't because the pen was not sharp enough.

Word for word from the show:

TROY: "Now, if you had a knife, what do you think your chances would have been to cut Andy's jump suit and release him?"

PILOT: "... I would not be here talking to you today if I had a knife." (meaning a knife would have made this a non-issue)

Ok, I know I have jumped from a lot of Otters, and the likelihood of a pilot being able to trim it out and walk all the way to the door to cut away someone is low, but also the odds that there is still a skydiver inside the plane able to help also go up exponentially when the plane carries 5X more people, and not every skydiver has a knife (or they might need more than one if they drop/damage the first)

Why don't jump planes have knives in pockets near the door???? It doesn't take a mechanic to gaff tape one up???

I have visited 8 DZs in the last year, this is not just one DZ...

So answer away... Is this one-in-a-million thing just not worthy of spending $20 per plane for a knife?

T.

[jakee 1,500]

If there are static liners on the load our planes have big beasty hook knives.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Yossarian 0]

our cessna and PAC have both got whopping great hunting knives by the door, plus if theres a raps load up the instructor will have a beast strapped to his leg

[tdog 0]

I am honestly surprised as the results show that a lot of planes have them.... But the DZs I have been to (larger multi-turbine DZs) did not seem to have them...

Those voting yes, please describe your plane and use...

Static line students?
Cessna DZ?

[MrBrant 0]

Quote

Those voting yes, please describe your plane and use...

My DZ's 182 has one strapped to the front of the pilot's seat.

It's mostly for the bootie-on the step thing (or other misc. need).

Be careful of those 182 steps they can indeed be very dangerous. This year we had one jumper catch his bootie on it (his jumpsuit ripped to the crotch, but he came off right away without having to knife anything ).
Another jumper got caught by his legstrap doing a wagon-wheel . That would not have been a good time to use the knife . (jumper managed to haul himself up, to the door, and unhook his strap himself and all ended well)

Our step has since been modified, and we have had no further problems with it.

Just as a warning to all, beware the step

[gulaz 1]

A lot of smaller cessna DZ's will have them, because they tend to have static line and IAD students. These are the ones that are going to get hung up more easily than anybody else

[Orange1 0]

Ours have them as we do SL and our BSRs require planes dispatching SL students to have knives on board.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[pincheck 0]

yes we have your cessna and your hunting knife by the door.

BPA regs/ section 6, 3.4 All FAI ‘A’ Certificate (Red) parachutists and above are required to carry a serviceable knife about their person, or on their equipment. The knife should be readily accessible.

Billy-Sonic Haggis Flickr-Fun

[piisfish 140]

in our Porters we have a knife and a pair of gogles just by the first aid kit.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[dmetz 0]

I don't remember where, but no too long ago I noticed a knife rigged with a 12-16 inch wood handle mounted next to the pilot's seat of a Cessna.

I thought of that bootie thing I saw on TV a few years ago, and it was comforting to see the knife available.

_________________________________________

"If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?"

[Johnsisland 0]

Well, the Cessna 182 I jump out of has a hook knife in a channel on the left hand side of the plane, within reach of the pilot and instructors.

It's not visible, and the only reason I saw it was the instructor checked it before he launched myself and another S/L student.

J

Arch? I can arch just fine with my back to the ground.