Couldn't find pilot chute handle

[freeasabird 0]

On first jump today I did "practice" check dive with instructor. I docked, did left 360, right 360, backloop, front loop, but could not make second dock. Turned and tracked at 4500. Tracked 6 or 7 seconds then reached for BOC pilot chute handle. Could not feel anything back there (I am positive I was reaching in the right place). Tried second time and same thing - nothing there (this time I thought I might have felt some pilot chute fabric). Gave up on trying to throw out and was just starting to reach for silver when all of a sudden I feel my main deploying!? Looked up and was under a good canopy.
After landing, I told my instructor (also a rigger) who jumped with me what happened. He inspected container, velcro, etc., and everything appeared acceptable. Talked to last jumper on load behind us to see if he saw anything. He said he did see a little excess bridle hanging loose between the BOC and the right container flap.

Any comments/advice on what caused my pilot chute to self-deploy and how this can be prevented from happening again?

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[FrogNog 1]

When was the last time you remember feeling your main handle? Was it in the plane right before you got in the door?

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Pull.

[lowie 0]

That's where I check it last.

[Newbie 0]

weird! No idea. Just one point though - not sure if you flattened out from your track (i.e. arched and or dearched to slow down), but allow a second or 2 (i usually take about 3 or 4 secs after tracking) to do this after tracking out rather than going straight from a track and pulling as this can injure you/your equipment, and has been the (possible) cause for atleast one fatality (although this could have been due to pre-exising medical conditions on that jumper). Maybe at this stage your tracking is fairly slow, but just bear it in mind for when you get to the point when you can burn a hole across the sky as your tracking becomes more efficient.
PS make sure you allow extra time for this so you don't go low on the pull.

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[WILDBILLAQR 0]

(this time I thought I might have felt some pilot chute fabric).

Sonds to me that you missed the handle but grabbed ( pulled loose) enough material to start the deployment process.
Good job sticking to your 2 try rule!

----------------------------------------------
"Thats not smoke, thats BUCKEYE!!"
AQR#3,CWR#49

[freeasabird 0]

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When was the last time you remember feeling your main handle? Was it in the plane right before you got in the door?

My routine is to start feeling my handle as soon as I put my chute on. I usually touch it a dozen or so times on the ground - just to keep my muscle memory current. Then in the plane, after we turn around and get on our knees during approach run, I'll touch it a few more times - up until the point where I move towards the door.

[FrogNog 1]

Yeah. Right now, in this post, we're working on where his handle went.

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Pull.

[Newbie 0]

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Yeah. Right now, in this post, we're working on where his handle went.

it doesn't matter what we might be working on now, satefy/training issues should come out of any post regardless of it's inital content, if it's warranted (like it makes another jumper wonder about whether or not someone is doing something - like pulling in a track - that could injure them, or worse, if that sort of thing comes out of the initial post).

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[riggerrob 643]

You need to develop a system for finding your ass ... er pilot chute ... without both hands and a map. Hah! Hah!
I tell short people to start by putting their thumb on the side of the container and sliding it down to the corner.
I tell people with long arms to put their thumb on their right butt cheek, then slide it up to the corner of the rig.
Practice both methods - with an instructor - to determine which method is better for you.
Then do a couple of practice touches at the top of your next skydive.

[Phillbo 11]

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Then do a couple of practice touches at the top of your next skydive.

Being a nubie, I do this on almost every jump. Get stable and then a quick practice touch just to make sure it's where I think it is.

[FrogNog 1]

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Yeah. Right now, in this post, we're working on where his handle went.

it doesn't matter what we might be working on now, satefy/training issues should come out of any post regardless of it's inital content, if it's warranted (like it makes another jumper wonder about whether or not someone is doing something - like pulling in a track - that could injure them, or worse, if that sort of thing comes out of the initial post).

I guess I didn't see anything in his post that made me think he was trying to pull in a track. His post said he tracked for a while, then went to pull, and had trouble finding his handle. I agree that it didn't say he tracked for a while, then stopped tracking for a few, then went to pull, and reminding someone they might want to do this is not a bad thing, in itself. But the post was a request about info on where the handle went / why it wasn't there, and your reply had three words to do with that then went into something related, but far less worrisome in my opinion. (I'd rather pull in a track than not find my main handle any day. Missing handles probably account for more fatalities than pulling in tracks, too.)

But, my rebuttal has nothing to do with the original post, either, so I've sunk to a level.

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Pull.

[Newbie 0]

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Quote

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Yeah. Right now, in this post, we're working on where his handle went.

it doesn't matter what we might be working on now, satefy/training issues should come out of any post regardless of it's inital content, if it's warranted (like it makes another jumper wonder about whether or not someone is doing something - like pulling in a track - that could injure them, or worse, if that sort of thing comes out of the initial post).

I guess I didn't see anything in his post that made me think he was trying to pull in a track. His post said he tracked for a while, then went to pull, and had trouble finding his handle. I agree that it didn't say he tracked for a while, then stopped tracking for a few, then went to pull, and reminding someone they might want to do this is not a bad thing, in itself. But the post was a request about info on where the handle went / why it wasn't there, and your reply had three words to do with that then went into something related, but far less worrisome in my opinion. (I'd rather pull in a track than not find my main handle any day. Missing handles probably account for more fatalities than pulling in tracks, too.)

But, my rebuttal has nothing to do with the original post, either, so I've sunk to a level.

thats why in my original post i said "not sure if you flattened out...." because, hey maybe he did - in which case he can chose to not read my post.

The point is, from his original post, i didn't know. What i do know is that pulling in a track, especially one that's gone on for 7 seconds, if it's efficient, can injure you, damage equipment, and has been the possible cause of at least one fatality from what i know.
I don't care what the ratio of injuries/fatalities are of not being able to find the handle:pulling in a track, because both are bad. If i think someone might be doing something that i know to be a bad thing, i'll let it be known, not because i want to hijack a thread, because it's out of concern for that person. Whether that concern is justified or not, i don't know, but i'll leave the decision making up to the person who i was responding to. 3 words on the original topic were because i have no idea what happened to his handle, and i have not (thankfully) experienced that situation before, so do not have any advice from experience to add to what can be done to rectify that situation. At the end of the day i would rather say something to someone that they might already know and feel a little silly, then not say something to them and think they might be none the wiser is all

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[Auryn 0]

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When was the last time you remember feeling your main handle? Was it in the plane right before you got in the door?

You said you checked it right before you exited.. is there any chance you sat down between the time you checked it and the time you exited, IE waiting for a group before you to exit, waiting for the floaters of your group to get out... if so, that handle can get pushed inside the BOC.. I have seen it before.


Blue Skies !

Bryan

D27808

[freeasabird 0]

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You said you checked it right before you exited.. is there any chance you sat down between the time you checked it and the time you exited

I was on my knees spotting the jump when I checked my handle last (I was the first jumper out). I am also confident my exit from the aircraft was clean (i.e. no bumping of door, people, pilot's seat, etc.).

[potatoman 0]

If the bridal was a bit loose, depending on the way you pack/insert PC, the bridal could have grabbed enough air and get pulledout. Thus resulting in the handle moving in, and the bridal out(not likely, but possibility when packed incorectly). Backloop, frontloop and track, are all fast and putting air onto a loose bridal from all sides. You felt some material of the PC on the second touch. This might have been the point where the bridal has been pulled out so far that the PC was also coming out. Thus grabbing anough air from the material to deploy. I have heard of people dumping a non-cocked PC, and then the canopy did deploy due to dragforce being enough. Remember that in this instance that I know of, it was also on the time the jumper reached for silver, giving you a different fall rate, and profile in the wind, affecting the dragforce some more.

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