Parachute Jump Instructor and Jump Student Die From Fall After Chute Lines Became Entangled During Tandem Jump From Plane

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Wisconsin Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (Wisconsin FACE) ; Wisconsin. Division of Public Health. Bureau of Occupational Health
• Description:
  A 33-year-old male parachute jump instructor (victim #1) and a 29-year-old jump student (victim #2) died upon impact with the ground following an unsuccessful tandem parachute jump. Victim #2 had contacted the victim #1 for a formal parachute lesson. The lesson included connecting two harnesses together which allowed victim #1 and victim #2 to jump as one unit. Victim #1 carried the chute pack on his back and victim #2 was attached to his chest via the harness in a back-to-chest position. On the day of the incident, a number of parachutists boarded a plane and ascended to an elevation of 10,500 feet. The tandem jumpers jumped from the plane, and were followed by two other single jumpers. Victim #1's drogue chute, which positions the jumpers and pulls out the main chute, deployed, and shortly thereafter the main chute began to deploy. Subsequently, the main chute and reserve chute lines became entangled in the drogue lines, and the chutes were unable to fully deploy. Victim #1 worked to free the tangled lines as two victims continued to fall. These attempts were unsuccessful, and the two victims struck the ground at a golf course. EMS responders and the medical examiner arrived, and the victims were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to the county morgue. The Wisconsin FACE investigator concluded that, to prevent similar occurrences, parachute jumpers, organizations, and manufacturers should: 1. continue to support and conduct research efforts on incorporating fail-safe systems into the maintenance, preparation and use of parachutes and equipment.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program
  
  not printed on the report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Safety Management Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 5 Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Protective-equipment Protective-measures Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Falls
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE93WI226
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Wisconsin ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  2 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028058
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2009-102447
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 93WI226, 1994 May ; :1-2
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• Performing Organization:
  Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  61 - Educational Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:091598aaf00f6896f226286cbb311bb1927c6a849904d362ff28cd594070d84d2aac49006c897cd31d44d9f56b7cc002fddd1e5a554f51ba51ee2f091bcd5c97
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166936/cdc_166936_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 17.89 KB ]