Gear Checks

[BlindBrick 0]

A few weeks back we had low-time jumper(jump 16-17, IIRC) have a reserve ride. The reason was that he unknowingly did a freefall with a static-line rig. While it was his fault for not checking to see if the ripcord was set up for a PRCP or not, the sad fact was that he rode to altitude with three D liscense jumpers, one of who climbed out behind him. None of them noticed the static line stowed, in plain sight, on the back of the rig.

It mzde for a good story aroudn the DZ but it also made me take note of how lax I had become in my own gear checks. So this is just a friendly reminder to encourage eveyone not only check their gear but their buddies as well. The incident sure made me pay more attention to my checks and I guaratee that jumper will never again forget to get one. :-)


Blues,

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[Michele 1]

Thanks, Blind, for the reminder. I am still somewhat obsessive about getting a gear check...I don't think I've been on a load that I haven't gotten one from a very experienced jumper (and generally from an instructor).

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[fred 0]

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None of them noticed the static line stowed, in plain sight, on the back of the rig.

I've never seen static lines except for those at my dropzone, but how do you miss something like this?

[Scoby 0]

Yeah, me too. I always ask for a gear check. I'm confident that I know how everything should look, but that's no reason to not get a second opinion.

[bluefingers 0]

WTF? that's pretty scary. On my sl jumps, it is hooked up before I even get in the door (C182). Then when I am in the door, the pilot, the JM and I give it a good tug to make sure.

Kerry

[puffdaddy 0]

Glad t hear the people from PPC still does the job.

Blue Ones

" You have never lived until you've almost died, and for those who has experienced it, life has a flavour the protected would never understand"

[ernokaikkonen 0]

Ok, I think I got it; Like everyone else here, I assumed a S/L-student whose line was not hooked up, but now it seems pretty clear to me that it was a freefall-student who grabbed a S/L-rig by mistake... Am I right?

That of course would be a a Major Fuck Up. At nearly 20 jumps a student should know enough about gear to make a mistake like that impossible.

[BPO 0]

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At nearly 20 jumps a student should know enough about gear to make a mistake like that impossible.

Still.. the more experienced jumpers should have noticed an unconnected S/L .. which can never be a good thing!

[ernokaikkonen 0]

>Still.. the more experienced jumpers should have noticed an
>unconnected S/L .. which can never be a good thing!

Had they noticed it, they of course should have acted. But noticing stuff like that is not really their job(if they're not instructors to the student in question). And we're all ultimately responsible for ourselves(the student being responsible to getting a proper gear check from his instructors).

Of course the (only)person the fingers should be pointed at is the instructor. There's no excuse for such negligence in checking a students gear.

[Satan666 0]

I must agree with Ernokaikkonen it is not the resposibility of any other jumper no matter what their rating to check other peoples gear unless asked to do so. If a jumper happens to notice something then yeah say something, otherwise it' still down to the jumper to check his own gear.

[dropdeded 0]

As a lowtime jumper myself you better believe I get gear checks.I ALWAYS ask one of the many instructers as soon as Im geared up,again waiting for the plane or on the way to the plane I am in no way to shy for a "Hey dude,could you",I get em in the plane too.Its usually because Im lettin the others know my jump level.For my safety and thiers.This shits fun but and I wanna continue doing it. Im taking every opportunity available to make it safe.I am yet to be turned down on a request for a gear check.I dont ask the guys I dont know but if thats all there was....
dropdeded

------------------------------------------
The Dude Abides.
-

[BPO 0]

I'm not saying the other jumpers are responsible for what happened to the inexperienced jumper. I am merely (unpleasantly) surprised that no-one noticed.

I usually look at the gear of the other jumpers on the plane with me, just to look for misrouted cheststraps and all that.
I would HOPE I would notice when another jumper has such an obvious error, as I hope anyone else will point me at my own fitting errors..

[coho21 0]

Yep I check out everyone as well as myself multiple times on the way up. In the last two weeks I've caught three RSL's not hooked up and a chest strap misrouted.

Gear checks are always a good idea.

J
YSD#0009

[AggieDave 6]

This weekend I had to stop a jumper walking to the plane with her pull-up tool (power tool) hanging from her rig, still IN the closing loop. That would have been a fun container lock, especially since it was a hop-n-pop load.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[riggerrob 643]

One of the nice thing about jumping with old-school skydivers thing about old-school skydivers is that they will tease you about your rig if it is not tirght.
Come on folks, this goes way beyond elgal responsiblities. It is about keeping your buddies alive.
If you are not glancing over your buddies gear while walking to the plane or riding to altitude, then you should not be on that load.
I have been jumping and instructing for so long, that detecting gear problems is not even a conscious effort.
"Some thing does not look right." is the first thing that crosses my mind, followed a a systematic gear inspection. Decades ago I lost track of hoe many mis-routed chest straps I have caught, and half the time I was not even on the load!
skydiving is the most social of all sky sports for a reason. Our constant interaction keeps us.

[BlindBrick 0]

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Replying to: Re: [BlindBrick] Gear Checks by ernokaikkonen
Ok, I think I got it; Like everyone else here, I assumed a S/L-student whose line was not hooked up, but now it seems pretty clear to me that it was a freefall-student who grabbed a S/L-rig by mistake... Am I right?

You're right, guy was making a freefall and just grabbed a rig off the ready rack without checking it thoroughly. No JM was involved as the guy was just off student status.

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That of course would be a a Major Fuck Up. At nearly 20 jumps a student should know enough about gear to make a mistake like that impossible.

It was like jump 15 or so for him. He's such a natural in the air that he blew right through the student program.in 12 jumps or so. I guess everyine was so in awe of his ability(for his 19th jump he lauched a 4-way from a 182 that built in to a multi-point hybrid) that we forgot to make sure that he was well rounded. I wasn't thre that day but I have heard that he did check his AAD and AOD so maybe he simply missed a part of the check. This is all supposition on my part but if I really had to hazard as guess. I think he was making a newbie's mistake of putting too much trust in his rigger. It is amazing how much trust people(even experienced jumpers) put into us just because we have that certificate. I think he assumed that since the rig he normally jumps had just been packed by a rigger and placed on the ready rack that it was good to go.


Blues,

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[BlindBrick 0]

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I must agree with Ernokaikkonen it is not the resposibility of any other jumper no matter what their rating to check other peoples gear unless asked to do so. If a jumper happens to notice something then yeah say something, otherwise it' still down to the jumper to check his own gear.

I'm not saying that the other jumpers are responsible per se. I was more advocating keeping an eye open. Besides the danger to the newbies, think of it as an enlarged sense of self-intrest. Everybody suffers from the bad press and such when some one gets seriously injured or killed in this sport. That's not to mention the posibility of having that happen to you becuaqse of someelse's gear.

-blues

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[Ruffles 0]

How could anyone, much less a group of people, fail to notice three. two-foot-long folds of bright yellow straps hanging on someone's container. I cannot believe they did not notice, they MUST have figured he was doing a S/L jump. Christ, I wonder if these cats would notice that my tiny-weenie non-colored closing pin was about to come lose on a gear check.

[Skyrose7 0]

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How could anyone, much less a group of people, fail to notice three. two-foot-long folds of bright yellow straps hanging on someone's container.

Holy Cow! That is scary to me that someone can get through a whole training course and not be able to recognize that they have a static-line set up. Didn't anyone else in the plane wonder why there was a static-line student (which he isn't) with no jm?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.
MaryRose

[PhreeZone 20]

If the original jumper was a product of AFF or a tandem program they might not of had any clue wat a static line was. I know I did'nt see my first static line till I had more then 200 jumps.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Hooknswoop 19]

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If the original jumper was a product of AFF or a tandem program they might not of had any clue wat a static line was.

So they inspected their gear, didn't know what the long yellow thing was for, didn't notice the rip cord/PC was missing and put the rig on and jumped. Hmmm.

Hook

[FallinWoman 1]

Along these same lines...I heard a scary story from one of my jump-buddies...

My friend had her reserve repack three weeks ago. She then hooked up her main and reattached her RSL.

Just this weekend, at the end of her third weekend jumping after the repack, someone noticed that the RSL was not hooled up correctly. It was not hooked up where it is supposed to be, nor was it attached to a casing if she wanted to leave it unattached.

IT WAS ATTACHED TO HER LARGEST THREE RING.

She didn't notice, nor did anyone else for three weekends of jumping.

YIKES!!!!


KNOW THY GEAR,
CHECK THY GEAR,
CHECK THY FRIENDS' GEAR.

Anne

~Anne

I'm a Doll!!!!

[rushmc 23]

Question, how many times do you reach back to feel that your BOC pilot chute handel is where it is supposed to be, just on the way up?? You would think that something missing would get your attention.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[dterrick 0]

... It's not so much how many times as is when was the LAST time you checked. In a C-182 (narrow airframe model) I'm lucky if I can even reach my hackey. I do my cutaway and reserve handle reach after each mind dive - just in case. I do a 3 handle check as I aproach the door and one final reach for the hackey just before I exit. That way, unless I bump the door on the way out Im 99.9% certain I don't have a lost or loose handle. (I've seen both).

Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

[rushmc 23]

You got that right! Every airplane, every situation brings it's own challenges. But the point is, you check for it, the PC handle, every chance you get.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln