"
Realizing Only One Legstrap Was Attached,
I Began To Feel Sick ..."
Oldrich
Sbiral,
Vysehrad 60,
Troubsko 664 41,
Czech Republic
Dear George,
I had been looking forward to a great day
of jumping in Kunovice, Czech Republic. The
weather was ideal with clear skies and low,
steady winds. We would be climbing to high
altitudes in the L410 Turbolet Twin Turbofan
which had been flown in for the boogie. We
exited the aircraft at 4000 meters (which
is about 12,500 ft) doing a simple two-way
plus cameraman. The freefall went perfectly,
but when I pulled my main at 1100 meters (approximately
3400 feet), something was drastically wrong.
I
was spinning wildly out of control, but I
couldn't understand exactly what was happening.
Everything above my head looked normal. The
steering toggles were in order and the slider
was down. I felt like something was wrong
with my harness.
I
looked down and all of a sudden I saw the
problem. Realizing only one legstrap was attached,
I began to feel sick. With one leg harness
and the other dangling without any support,
I was totally disbalanced in my gear. I tried
to pull myself up to re-harness my leg, but
the centrifuge was too strong. I could hardly
lift my arms with the high performance elliptical
slinging me around and around. I was terrified.
I
didn't know if the reserve would help or not
since it was also square, but at 200 meters
I had no choice but to try. In the confusion
I ended up pulling the reserve ripcord slightly
before I cut away the main. The reserve opened
cleanly before I knew what was happening,
and the main separated successfully. I was
still spinning, but now at a slower rate,
and I was able to stabilize the canopy with
the toggles. Despite hanging from the reserve
with only one legstrap, I landed successfully!
My Raven Reserve
saved my life!
Now
I know that you (as did my fellow jumpers)
will be wondering why, or even how, my legstrap
could have come undone. A frame-by-frame examination
of the video showed the legstrap was originally
in order, but the loose end came unstowed
and was flapping in the airstream. We concluded
the legstrap came unthreaded on the main's
opening shock. This might not have happened
if the loose end had been stowed properly.
I
can't emphasize enough my relief for having
bought this Raven Reserve only 2 jumps prior
to this nearly fatal day! I'm also glad I
stayed within Precision's recommended weight
range, even though the square footage of the
reserve was larger than the main. I think
this is a major factor which allowed me to
survive my ordeal. My Raven 2 will be with
me for life- a life I owe to it! My girlfriend
Martina was on the ground watching my malfunction,
and she wants to thank you for the save too!
Oldrich
Sbiral
Aeroklub Brno - Slatina - Czech Republic
