Friday Freakout: Skydiver's Sketchy Low Cutaway, Reserve Parachute Open By 500 Feet!

[@neilmckeeney6478]

30 years ago I was taught that a low speed malfunction is more dangerous than a high speed one. With a high speed malfunction you have no choice but to decide and act immediately. However with a slow speed malfunction you can hesitate until you are too low to cut away.

[@cowebb2327]

Very true. The ground looks very close under canopy

[@ohasis8331]

1500 she gone.

[@spudeleven5124]

Agree completely. Fixation and "working the problem", meanwhile, the ground is getting closer. I'm pretty much retired now from jumping but although I had a couple of close calls, I never had a malfunction severe enough to chop. Broken toggles twice; glad they didn't happen on final!

[@ZfoXSilklasH]

This happend to me during AFF, I didnt understand why i had to be 50% on one side to flight straight, but seemed okay with one arm half down, so I landed like that. I remember the guy on the ground saying on the radio "arms up arms up" when i was near the ground, I showed breifly that if I raised both my arms I would spin and landed with my armes asymetricaly. Before everyong jump to my throat : it was my 4th jump, and the rule was, if you can't fly your canopy you cut it. I could fly it so it didnt cut away. Looking back on that I still dont know If I should have cut or not, but i'm alive today so It probably wasnt the worst choice ever.

[@lookat2006]

it should say, if you can't land it, you cut it.. he could "fly" it (for a while), but the landing approach and flare would have become a problem..

[@valderja]

If you could control it and feel like you could land it safely (big student canopy) you did the right thing.

[@johnreed8872]

From what I saw in the video it appears as if he was in half brakes and held that through out , seems as if he never let the conopy fully inflate... really hard to tell because you don't have a clear view of the conopy. Regardless... when in doubt , Whip it out!! He either wasn't trained or ' forgot ' to immediately check conopy and lines , brakes and steering . He simply dicked around too long before making a decision to cut. Vertical speed and/or rate of decent apparently wasn't high enough to trigger the AAD .

[@valderja]

@@johnreed8872 You don't want an AAD firing while you still have the main above your head. His right brake line was caught up or still stowed with half brake setting which meant with both arms up, he was diving to the right.

[@mrtrapper93]

Did the correct thing! IMHO as a former instructor!

[@AstralGalaxian]

I've had the exact same malfunction on like jump 24, I was always timid when releasing the breaks, and one got stuck in the eyelet and wouldn't release, then I started spinning out of control, so I chopped. I had people telling me "bro, you should of just brought the other toggle down". But in that situation, with little skill, I freaked out and performed my emergency procedures and was able to walk away. I'm very firm now when releasing the toggles.

[@maseratifittipaldi]

You should leave the breaks tied up and locked away. No safety equipment needs such stuff.

[@tad22560]

You made a decision to cut away, and you lived. There should be nobody second guessing that, especially with the low number of jumps you had at the time. Good decision.

[@thomasgonzales.5304]

Explain the malfunction a little bit

[@JOlsson01]

You made the right decision.

[@spudeleven5124]

@@thomasgonzales.5304 Right toggle stuck in the steering line stow loop. I've had the opposite happen where a steering line breaks. That's easy, just fly and land with rear risers.

[@CurtisVenn]

Also, holy busy dropzone. Felt like a proper airport with all that traffic.

[@brianpaton6687]

Thats the first thing I noticed as he go closer to the ground.

[@BananenStrasse]

Its a normal swiss dropzone

[@iansutherland8155]

I was surprised to see a chopper flying around.

[@brianpaton6687]

@@iansutherland8155 Yeah I saw that. One coming into land and another with it's rotors turning on the ground.

[@278Trev]

A airplane helicopter and what six parachutes... wow

[@77gravity]

After he stops trying to clear the toggle, he flies around for almost a minute, in a slow but controlled manner. It looked landable. Even if he does not realise it, he has already decided to land it (because he didn't chop when he stopped trying to clear it). And then he makes a NEW decision, a lot lower. If your main is broken, then you MUST decide, at that moment, what you will do. And the best decision is (almost always) to chop it. Why wear a reserve if you don't use it when you need it? And you should only ever over-ride that decision with a new decision if circumstances change.

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

Why not just continue spiraling down with the off-balance main? His rate of descent was safe enough, wasn't it?

[@SoupWithIce]

Glad he made it safely to the ground. I love watching these guys jump out of the plane from high up in the mountain with my binoculars. I'm always in awe. I prefer such heights with rock under my feet. Their view over ticino must just hit different though.

[@charlessafarian3295]

Do a tandem and see it for your self! Nothing else comes close!

[@ES-iv6wb]

I’ve just got done watching all 326 vids of FF😂. Took me 3 weeks. Thank you for all the info!

[@ryeann2567]

Whats your favorite one?

[@jimfarrell8662]

When in doubt whip it out. You cannot reclaim altitude after it is lost.

[@278Trev]

When in doubt throttle out at that altitude over an airport full of traffic go somewhere else

[@278Trev]

When in doubt throttle out is a dirt bike thing keep it in your pants bro

[@drgoog2577]

@@278Trev forgot to switch accounts?

[@adamwilkinson6721]

@@drgoog2577 why would someone waste their time having a conversation with themselves? I understand they haven't switched accounts but why would they waste their time doing that?

[@farahabdulkhadirsaid5218]

@@adamwilkinson6721 to start a chain comment

[@keithrickson8522]

Wow, what's the go with all the traffic? Helos, planes, everywhere. I was afraid his chute would find it's way into a prop somewhere.

[@znfl9564]

I can't believe he tried to ride that out. Let alone how long he waited to cut. Someone needs a ground school refresher!

[@ZeroSpawn]

I think he was hoping it was going to fix it's self the lower he got. LOL xD

[@xhector]

I think he was scared to cut away at that low... which is normal but yeah... need to take decisions quicker.

[@oneeyehooly9537]

Bro I had a malfunction before and ALMOST had to cut Shit gets very very very fucking real when you realize you're chopping away something that is potentially preventing you from dying in hopes something else will save you. Weird mentality but it's literally acceptance of whatever happens

[@znfl9564]

@@oneeyehooly9537 believe me brother, I know. I had 2 cuts before I finished my licensing and both were from using old gear and then nearly a 3rd because of a broken line but I was able to ride it home with no issues. A buddy of mine I trained with has had 4 cuts, never gets any less terrifying but you can't tetter back and forth on a hill like that if you know what I mean. Keep in mind folks, this is an extreme sport for a reason. If you're gonna take the plunge at roughly 120 mph, you gotta make your decisions in seconds, not minutes. This is what ground school is for! 👍

[@SkydogVIT]

this is panic. - no need to pull the brakes without looking. - even after that, the situation could be corrected. sorry for my english - it's google :)

[@MrCatchmeifyoucan86]

I see so many smart comments here. It’s so much easier to know what to do when you‘re not in the position of the jumper in the video. I‘m sure he has learnt a lot out of it and it‘s a great contribution to safety awareness that he‘s sharing this video with the community so that everyone can learn out of it.

[@colink3728]

You must not be a skydiver. We're trained to cut that away immediately before we even make out first jump. This guy contributed absolutely nothing to the sport other than showing us how stupid some people can be

[@jaffacalling53]

Lmao I'm sorry but there was no reason for him to not cut away within the first 20 seconds after discovering the malfunction. It became immediately apparent that he could not easily fly and land the canopy, and he was over a wide open field so it's not like he would have had any trouble searching for the main anyway.

[@JOlsson01]

Basic training is very clear. If you have a malfunction, you cut away and deploy your reserve. I bet the first question he got from from drop zone safety officer would've been, - why didn't you cut away earlier?

[@bradconnor2856]

I agree,one side locked at 50 percent is most likely a packing mistake,i dont understand why the toggle released from the riser without releasing the brake. Having regained some canopy control,the decision to cutaway was correct as it appeared the strength required to stop the right hand spin could not be maintained to the ground and there was sufficient height for the cutaway.

[@FrozzenK]

@@colink3728 Well what if you cutaway and then your spare has an even worse issue?

[@cowebb2327]

In my experience, the ground looks a hell of a lot closer when you're under canopy than in free fall. Had a similar experience and decided I had one good canopy out and decided to manage it. It was the right decision for me, looks like he made the right decision for him.

[@yuraretz2379]

First the ground seems to be standing still but as you keep falling it starts approaching faster and faster. You open the chute at around 1km, where the zoom in effect is significant enough to notice.

[@tanky1734]

if the ground is looking close under free fall you've got yourself a problem

[@driver46]

Beautiful drop zone , amazing view . He was alright to land that but little bit of extra excitement is always fun. He got base jump and regular jump for price of one , lol.

[@giuseppezilioli777]

@Alex Bonardi Yes is Dz Locarno I jump in the 1985

[@ryanlynch01]

at least he'll probably find his handles lol...

[@DiabloOutdoors]

Thank you for all the information in the description. It is very informative and educational. You may even have prevent a loss of life with this!

[@skydiverclassc2031]

You can just barely see it, but at 2:50, there goes his freebag, landing right behind the twin turbine. At least he didn't have to walk far.

[@fleafrier1]

Wow well spotted. I had to scroll through a few times before I picked it up. One of the benefits of a low cutaway I guess. At least all of your stuff lands nearby.

[@skydiverclassc2031]

@@fleafrier1 I saw it on the first view, and then it took me 5-6 in a row before I saw it again.

[@fleafrier1]

SkydiverClassC I think someone else mentioned his main landing on the taxiway but that free bag must be what they were talking about. I doubt the fully inflated main landed before he did. Free bags always seem to descend quickly once the weight of the spring in the pilot chute takes over.

[@tad22560]

That's the reason for a "decision altitude." If you reach that altitude and still don't have a good canopy, cut away. I've seen people die from waiting too long to decide. Glad that this one turned out OK.

[@ManosTheOne]

You've "seen" "people" (plural) die?? Maybe you should change dropzone?

[@SOLDOZER]

You've seen multiple people die? What kind of monkey farm DZ do you jump at?

[@AK-xe2ly]

Teem description is way off. This is not a tension knot or a lineover or a step through. Go to 0:59. It's a cateye clenched on the toggle. Not that hard to see.

[@a.raimondo4183]

So, between AFF and my A license I created a problem where I released brakes and essentially tied a knot around the left rear riser. It put me into a not terrible turn. I think it happened because I ran my hand through the loose, excess line before unstowing the brake (I did not pack for myself at the time). I was pulling high at that time 4-4.5k and decided to pull in the riser, release tension and untie the knot. It worked, but you must realize what it looked like to my coach below. It was cleared before 3k. On the ground I was told that I should not do "in flight rigging" and to chop that $h1T! I agree at that experience level, but if faced with the same problem now, with enough altitude, I would try to resolve the knot again, or explore what rear riser input did to the canopy. At decision altitude if not resolved it is a chop period. Also, thanks for sharing so we can learn. Glad you are okay.

[@jonathanjuanola8054]

Panic for... nothing 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@leefithian3704]

Let go of the right toggle , bring eye of left control line below the guide ring enough to grasp line with right hand , Restow left toggle ( make sure eye is on the hard , sewn part of the toggle , as to not repeat right side problem ) canopy now back in half brakes , even , now bring right side toggle down low enough to grasp line above the eye with palm of left hand , use fingers of left hand to slip eye off right toggle , (this motion must be fairly quick as canopy begins to turn ) release left toggle , final control check , altitude , traffic , land -then resize the eye of the control line to fit toggle properly (with rigger ) do not stow toggle eye in soft part between the toggle grommet and hard sewn part of toggle , then it won’t get stuck , cost you dough , time , embarrassment, blue skies

[@keeponwishin]

I had a toggle lock on a tandem a few years ago. Yes, it does seem silly and it sucks having to cut it away, but the fact is you cannot control your parachute for a safe landing. Good on you for making the right decision, just don’t wait so long next time.

[@jimday666]

Your life or your main canopy. Choose wisely.

[@herrunbekannt7556]

Live without main is not worth living... 😔

[@lawfreefly]

Nice scenery for a chop. Too much thought went into that decision.

[@rapii87]

those rare times you find something that isnt a clickbait!

[@278Trev]

My first thought exactly

[@278Trev]

Looks almost to sketchy sounds breathy

[@josef_braun]

Welcome to base! 👍

[@davidflores6853]

Yes this la mailfuntion principal parachute, precedimenter its. Liberation principal and rcl pull reserve and cut the principal, and reserve maneras pull ( this Action time 2 seconds

[@josef_braun]

@@davidflores6853 wtf is your comment?

[@billsanders5067]

As a student I was instructed do not ever try to fly a spinning malfunction no matter if you think you can control and land it because it can go to shit at 300 feet.

[@glydrfreak]

The description says it’s uncertain why it locked up. Look at the frame revealing the right toggle exactly at 1:00. The toggle is stuck in the set point in the brake line.

[@arctic_ita]

It happens with used brake lines, trying to pull it down or pull the line up won't free it, the pressure will make the hole even smaller around the command.. you have to move the ring with your other hand and to do so, without causing a spin, you just put the opposite command in your mouth. I dunno why he panicked, it happens so often!

[@Juiceboxdan72]

Thanks guys, I was trying to figure out what happened, I just assumed he hit rotor or something (I have zero experience), but I see what you pointed out in the video. This is a noob question, but does it damage your gear to cut away the main canopy? I am wondering if that influenced his decision? Or maybe there wasn't much decision-making at all?

[@Juiceboxdan72]

This is really interesting, btw

[@arctic_ita]

@@Juiceboxdan72 He had malfunction, there's several malfunctions you can experience during skydiving, some can easily be handled and solved, some others will force you to cut-away (using your reserve canopy), also depending upon your experience. The debate was about if making a cut-away in this case was necessary without trying to solve the issue, however the final decision is always in the hands of whoever is under the canopy, the final purpose is to land safely and being able to jump again, if you accomplish that you did it right! To answer your question, a cut-away (money wise) could cost to you as little as $150 or so (repack the emergency canopy) to some thousand dollars (lose your canopy, freebag, handles.. etc.), however it's never a money decision (despite the fact that some skydivers would argue with this), you're "playing" with your life, when you jump there's only two devices that are going so "save" you and they are your main canopy and your reserve canopy, doing a cut-away means that you are cutting your chances of surviving by 50% (simple math), a reserve canopy while being safe it still a canopy and it can malfunction as well and then you don't have a third one for more chances... so if you have the possibility (time, altitude, experience) to solve the problem with your main canopy, it's always preferable to try it rather than just give up and count on your reserve. On the other side, if you see that trying to land with your main canopy not in a good shape would put you at big risk, you'll go for a reserve, your life (well, mine) is worth much more than few thousands dollars.

[@Juiceboxdan72]

@@arctic_ita Thank you, that makes sense! My life is worth at least 50 bucks lol. I spoke with a WWII vet many years ago at an airshow (I'm in the US, btw), onboard the parked Memphis Belle. He had a story about one of his buddies who's reserve failed to open, RIP. He had to throw his own reserve a few days later due to a malfunction - in his words: "Thank goodness it went 'pop.'" I'd imagine the technology has come a long way since then, thankfully. Still, my guess is that proper training keeps you alive at least as well as your gear can, even by modern standards. Thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@mikeferguson4816]

One of the worst decisions I've seen on a Friday freakout. He should have cut away at least 30 seconds earlier.

[@Mark-et8vh]

It's been a while since my last jump, (jump 599 in 1988) but he should have dumped that canopy the second he realized he had a brake locked up and couldn't correct it. Going to reserve sucks, but burning in sucks more and as was mentioned, with no time to correct for line twist and heading errors, his idiocy could have harmed people on the ground.

[@bjb7587]

Sad to say, I've seen worse here.

[@mikeferguson4816]

@@bjb7587 cool, please post links.

[@Mark-et8vh]

@Man Like Barnzy Well, again, my last jump was a long time ago. My reserve was a 26' round and it most def rattled your cage.

[@tousledmonkey]

@Man Like Barnzy Sure a safe landing is more important than anything else, but after that it just sucks. The day is over. Maybe even the week or month, depending on how fast you can get that reserve repacked, find your main canopy (and with this guy apparently find your cutaway handles too), have it reinstalled, some airports require paperwork too when irregs occur. It costs anywhere between 80 (reserve repacking) and 4000 bucks (high performance main canopy lost/destroyed). That's why it sucks.

[@StevieWonder-f9h]

I had the same thing happen to me (line twist). When I made it to the ground and said “did you see that?” No one had any idea what I was talking about. The moral of the story for para-sailers and / or skydivers is: When you are up there [in the sky] you may be so alone that no one will hear you scream. IJS

[@arctic_ita]

It's the brake line stuck in the buttonhole, a very common issue... you put your other command in your mouth (so you won't spin) and then use both the hands to get it free in seconds. If you decide for a ride reserve because of this, I can't imagine what you gonna do in the case of a real emergency.

[@usafwilkerson]

I was thinking the same thing. I had this happen a few months ago jumping a new chute I bought. Didn’t seem like a big deal to me.

[@spudeleven5124]

That's a good suggestion. If I'm above DA I will definitely try it. Thanks for sharing.

[@ChristopherGrantham]

I’m gonna go ahead and give him mad props for dropping his main right on the taxiway, and at least giving controllability a shot while he had altitude. The panicked screaming...2 demerits. Handle yer junk-show, or panic and flail, not both.

[@ChrisSantacroce]

How about hook knife the right brake and steer on the rears if you are that stubborn.

[@ChristopherGrantham]

Ooooh yeah I like the hook knife solution even better!

[@sletzer]

Waiting waaaay too long to make that decision. Hard decks my man.

[@Michael-xo8lw]

That was anxiety-provoking just b/c of HIS anxiety, which is understandable. It was worthwhile for me to watch it and just breathe through it.

[@MrScillage]

If you’re so fucking petrified of a cutaway that you sit in the saddle and fart around with an uncontrollable canopy for 2 minutes, maybe this sport isn’t for you

[@anthonymcgrath]

Is it big ? Yes Is it rectangular? Yes Is it controllable? NO! Get off it! I know its easier said than done esp in light of the fact your reserve isnt guaranteed and he was giving it a good old go so props.. but that level of brake toggle offset just to roughly fly straight.. plus he was around people who were going into their landing patterns and base legs.. he should have been off that 2000 feet earlier 👍🏽

[@JenniferSmith-yl6lr]

Haha funny rule.... I started on a Kohnke triangle and I did several hundreds on a Para Commander Competition before I switched to the "modern world" So, not always rectangle 😂

[@F8LDragon2]

Jennifer Smith is it there? Is it square? Will it flare? If not, don’t you dare...

[@bjb7587]

@@JenniferSmith-yl6lr After student jumps on T10s, my first canopy was a Paracommander, back in the mid 70s. Medium blue and black. After maybe 50 jumps, moved up to a Sabre, an early square. Good times.

[@kevinnathanson6876]

@@JenniferSmith-yl6lr Even with the malfunction, had he kept it, he would have landed MUCH better than a 'perfect' Paracommander landing! Let's hear it for us old people. This one brought back memories of my first cutaway, when I had a Mae West on a? Yep. Paracommander... had a 22' round reserve and missed landing on a running helicopter by a good 10 feet or so. FWIW, I DEFINITELY would have landed the one he cut away; just take a few wraps on the left brake line, figure out how far you can pull before it stalls, and land it. Super-late decision was really scary!

[@anthonymcgrath]

@@F8LDragon2 I like that one 😊

[@firstnamelastname9615]

Never been skydiving but reading all the jargon in this chat makes me want to watch the movie Drop Zone.

[@cowebb2327]

It's fun to watch but totally unrealistic. Just keep that in mind.

[@fishhisy]

Remember you have seconds to make a judgment and others will have forever to make a judgment

[@EliminateSir]

No matter the malfunction, there is no time to think or trying to fix it. It is an immediate decision to cut and pull the reserves.

[@holgiholgi2829]

Paracentro Locarno, Switzerland ... One of the most beautiful views of Europe's DZ's. Strange situation, since Switzerland has pretty tough currency regulations concerning their skydivers permits. Anyhow - been there, jumped there, loved it! Great operation, run by Paracentro Locarno. 👍👍👍

[@spudeleven5124]

Jumped at Reichenbach once. Beautiful DZ but with all the restrictions, fees, etc it wasn't worth it and I won't jump in Switzerland again, even though I'm right next door in Germany.

[@grillmeisterflash]

@@spudeleven5124 I jumped in Reichenbach and got into trouble because i touched the cemented runway on one landing with one foot, they are crazy with regulations there.

[@spudeleven5124]

@@grillmeisterflash Did you see the tandems doing hook turns? They also spot through solid clouds using GPS (not me! I waited for a sunbreak). Gorgeous views, but way too risky, even if they do have a shiny new C208 Grand Caravan.

[@grillmeisterflash]

@@spudeleven5124 now i understand the video of the low pull over a mountain next to the dropzone better

[@manin10]

The most useless thing to a skydiver is the altitude above you!

[@stanmancam]

He saved his life he is a winner

[@skyd8726]

This malfunction was caused by setting your toggles TOO DEEP into the loop on the brake line. Some toggles have a gap between the grommet and the heavily sewn "nose" of the toggle. When you set the toggle too deeply, the opening shock can cause the line to lock onto the toggle at this location = what we see in this video. Always set the brakeline loop over the nose part of the toggle. Unfrtunately I see this problem happening on reserve canopies by some riggers. This is an old problem with an easy solution. Stay safe out there.

[@grillmeisterflash]

i agree, also happens if the excess line length has not been stowed away correctly (personal experience) landed my parachute by adjusting the breakinput on the other side (wouldnt have done it on a high wingload), its a personal choice in the end if you want to take the reserve gamble for a working parachute.

[@xistsixt]

Ahh figg di mann... 😂 🇨🇭-swearing

[@emanuelgietl842]

Servus hast du eine ahnung wo der sprungplatz ist?

[@xistsixt]

@@emanuelgietl842 Locarno Tessin

[@Apfzeree]

My first AFF coaching at ground school of my instructor: Never do the emergency procedure lower then 2000 ft. And I had studied/practised all types of malfuction by picture and video at ground for which kind of that you need to do emergency procedure immedietely, and which type of that you can "try" to handle it "higher then 2000ft".

[@fluffybunyip3796]

He should pay TWO slabs of Beer for throwing away two perfectly good handles!!!

[@RobertLeclercq]

This highlights the necessity for braked landings with a PLF to be included in training. No need to panic like this jumper did. The parachute was flying great despite the fact his right brake would not release from the cats eye. Braked approach, PLF, ??? PROFIT.

[@BrainlessVirus]

thats what i was thinking. In airborne I've come in way hotter than that

[@rjjablo]

Looked to me like he was creating his own problems. Round chutes on a static line only with a PLF mandatory

[@Nataliusupra]

Finally someone 👍

[@k1ng401]

Watching at quarter speed you can see he tries to do a few of the things commenters are saying he should have tried. But he seems to to be unable to keep that left hand locked at the necessary length to keep himself from spinning while he works on the right brake line.

[@JayDee-xj9lu]

Maybe he could have hooked the left brake between his knees to fly straight and untie the right brake. But not go to low. We had a student cut away at 1000 feet. When asked why, he said" the slider wouldn't go up" After a while it dawned on him what he'd done.

[@truther6616]

Right Toggle is caught tight in its loop...maybe a good pull on it would have freed it to fly normal. Glad your alive bud.

[@kdm313]

Sky diving it’s gotta be for the rush. Because the odds of something malfunction seams high. These people are Brave.

[@apburner1]

Who jumps a field with that much traffic? Not a fucking chance.

[@Chris173972]

I bet he was 2 stone lighter after this. Very lucky guy

[@skydive1424]

Chris Burrow there were traces of brown rocket propellant in the area reportedly

[@TheWhiteCometOfZion]

This happened to me on my official first deployment jump at night. We had already jumped super low and it deployed tangled. I can't tell you the amount of information that I processed in 2 seconds. It felt like 5 minutes and second #2 went from contemplating to cutting away and praying to god the reserve chute worked.

[@WilliamKing-hf8lc]

Damn.. so much going on that it's confusing yet things pop, (helicopters, the chute bag ect... I dunno.. sure was a lot of shit going down) Glad dude made it!

[@randyporter3491]

When you see the shadow of you cutting the main, you're a little low.

[@cowebb2327]

:)

[@BrainlessVirus]

In airborne thats about the height our main chute finally opens lol

[@cowebb2327]

That's because you're minimizing time to get shot at :) otherwise there's no sane reason to jump out of a plane at 1,000 ft...or less.

[@yarpos]

apple meet orange

[@BrainlessVirus]

@@yarpos more like "crab apple meet granny Smith", but okay

[@RyanM-ke2gu]

Good thing he paid extra for embroidery on the handles just to throw them away.

[@fishyc150]

He walked away. That's a good landing.

[@eman331]

Canopy control check, bro! Damn, that was cringe worthy! The moment he realized he did not have full control, he should have cutaway.

[@MarkGaleC3H5N3O9]

Disagree... It appears he understood what the problem was and should've used his hook knife to solve it.

[@TommyPusztai]

@@MarkGaleC3H5N3O9 hook knife? What for?

[@johnlewis1113]

@@TommyPusztai I'm pretty sure Mark is suggesting that he cut the brake line off... which, of course would have both stopped the spiral and been a separate mal in its own right. Can be landed with proper experience and advance practice... but it's an interesting choice to go from one mal to another.

[@TommyPusztai]

@@johnlewis1113 A reserve ride versus a brake line replacement? One can easily jump after a repack, but the other... Not to mention, wielding a hook knife, as freaked out as he was... a thin riser is so easy to damage, and THEN you have a mal, for sure.

[@iansutherland8155]

I'm not a sky diver, but wasnt that loop hanging off his right brake handle the problem. It looks like its tangled and caught up on the handle. Surely that's an easy fix.

[@owisechiefwillis]

I'd love to talk to the rigger that thought this was a step through

[@mgattini]

that has to be one of the coolest airports in the world! Only thing missing is a seaplane base on the lake

[@azadeh1504]

Awesome explanation in the description. Thank you guys !

[@phutton88]

Hey riggers: the cat eyes don't need to be super tight on the toggles! Thanks

[@skydive1424]

This guy is soo cool! He just wanted to collect his canopy and freebag on the way to the packing area.....

[@charlieodom9107]

I had a situation like this on one of my jumps, but I'm not an experienced diver, and I was at the mercy of my tandem, so we rode it down with him not even able to reach the left side. He was able to control the spin by toggling the right, so he made the decision to not cut, and we landed near perfectly, and within feet of the bullseye target, so I never though too much about it. He was a very good diver, and I don't even think his heart rate went up through the whole thing.

[@justsomeone899]

For all those who don‘t speak swiss german, when he says „figg di“ it means fuck you xD

[@leonrickli7443]

I was there for 2 weeks piloting small planes every day and jumping at the weekends😁

[@Dark___Venom]

At least he doesn`t have to search for his main

[@justingould2020]

And I think his freebag landed a quick stroll from where he landed.

[@NvyZero]

$0.02 rigger here, as well as thousands of Skydive’s... There is a point where ones brake line gets so twisted up the toggle will not fit in the cat eye. To prevent this, is to hold both toggles in hand after landing and stow the toggles immediately after landing. Always check your brake lines after a day of jumping, there could always be a weird possible twist. My opinion of what happened here was this human was uninformed and was probably struggling to stow the toggle in the cat eye when packing, and twisted it more (or less) to make it fit, which ended up happening. So he jumped it! The tension of the twisted brake line (smaller cat eye) caused it to stick.

[@KilpatrickOysters]

This bloke probably should either do ground school or trade his rig for some golf clubs

[@TheTibetyak]

Perhaps he saw some stomach turning YT videos of Super Sad Sunday Golf Cart Crashes and chose skydiving as his next safest sport?

[@4barhigh]

I'd wager the ability to drink while golfing (especially w/ carts) makes it a bit more dangerous actually.

[@ryeann2567]

Thought for sure this smooth brain was gonna try to fly the reserve over the hangars and land on top of them. Making that final 180 and flaring was about the only thing he did right. What awful management of this situation.

[@abdulahadahmad5859]

He had the rest of his life to figure out how to survive the fall...good job

[@SOLDOZER]

He knew he should cutaway but didnt want to and thought he would be able to control it.

[@cup_and_cone]

Switzerland is so beautiful, almost looks fake, like something from a SimCity video game.

[@Dubtee]

Any time there's a cut away, you can always tell by the distant, "aw fuck! God dammit!" coming from above.

[@garydaslug3025]

that guys swiss and i’m just enjoying the way he swears

[@grillmeisterflash]

HURESIECH!

[@shaqblack2]

Welp, cross this off the list of things I never have to worry about. LMAOOO

[@cowebb2327]

:) If you watch car crash videos you wouldn't drive either. Focus on the millions and millions of jumps that go off without incident.

[@RickyIcecubes]

That was a scary low cutaway. The airport tripled in size just in that split second that passed in between the cutaway of the main and deployment of the reserve. This was pretty close to being a fatal accident.

[@BostonBuzz]

Holy shit! My heart was racing watching that vid!!

[@douggarr9095]

Here's where old guy experience comes in. I had a about 20-30 jumps back from a very long layoff (25 years) and I had a brake lockup on the right side. I simply stopped the slow spin by using my right rear riser to fly straight and level and make gentle turns. As soon as I calculated that I'd have to land in half brakes and do a PLF, I saw that I was going to make the landing area. Did that. Walked back, saw my rigger (nobody even knew I had a problem) and the first thing he said was that most people cut this away because they don't have any idea how to do what you did. I'm not saying he made the wrong decision. He just made it about a minute too late. He's lucky to be here. I hope someone gave him religion after he landed.

[@amalekited]

Wrap the toggle and hook your thumb in your strap. This is how they taught us to fly in rears from long spots without getting tired.

[@Y390R]

And then rip your hand off during cutaway

[@amalekited]

Yegor Belov That’s a good point but at the same time, if you’re committing to landing it sub 1000ft and take a wrap, a cutaway isn’t going to be an option anyway. Plus, plenty of straps/rings to grip without a full wrap. Worth mentioning in the vid description? Just seems fatigue shouldn’t have been a factor.

[@wolfganglienbacher]

you do realize this canopy is not in any kind of landable configuration, right?

[@k1ng401]

@@wolfganglienbacher why not? I’m not a jumper, can you explain why you can’t land this? If he kept both brakes at same level would he have not descended at a safe rate and eventually just flared or PLF at the end? Or was the fatigue of keeping the left brake pulled down to match the right too much as the description said? Could he have hooked into the riser somewhere to give his arm muscle some support?

[@wolfganglienbacher]

@@k1ng401 If you are the most badass 'I don't care bout injury' type of person - or are already on your reserve canopy and thus out of options - yes sure, you could try do that. Personally I think it's absolutely not even worth considering that's why in my point of view this configuration is not landable. Really every jumper needs to draw his own line on how safe he wants to play it. Being in skydiving for more than 10 years I have seen enough injury from sub par decision making, I like to draw the line high.

[@halfonsojimenez]

Big balls to do that at that altitude!!

[@sawmorebuttz]

i love that your reserve says plan b I hope your main says plan A

[@pauljanssens4449]

Unusual to hear a swiss curse like that 😂

[@Quhpi...]

this happend in a swiss-dropzone, in Locarno. I did some jumps there thirty years ago. I think he decided zu cut away too late, look......check....make a desicion.........just maximum 30 sec................so he can pull the reserve in about 1200 feet.

[@jomisamar2005]

Remember folks, there is decisions altitude for a reason. You will always lose altitude and you will never get it back, so use it wisely.

[@idratherfly2000]

Miguel Sarria you wont ALWAYS lose altitude, could have a very strong up draft....

[@jomisamar2005]

@@idratherfly2000 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️, you're missing the point. We're talking about decision altitudes when you have an uncontrollable canopy, go troll somewhere else.

[@idratherfly2000]

Miguel Sarria you’re missing the point, if someone trolls you, don’t reply back. Once you reply back you have immediately lost and the troll has won. If someone trolls you just keep quiet and move on. Also it is true about strong up drafts, you wont “always” lose altitude... Troll-1 Miguel-0

[@jomisamar2005]

@@idratherfly2000 .......

[@idratherfly2000]

@@jomisamar2005 Troll 2 , Miguel 0

[@slartybarfastb3648]

This is nothing more than a toggle not releasing from the stow loop. The right side stays in half brakes. There is no canopy malfunction; it's inflated and flying straight until brakes are released. I had the same issue after getting new lines. Scary the first time, then the next time you just ride the spiral dive while using both hands to free the excess from the hung up toggle. It happened six jumps in a row before the loop finally stretched enough to allow the toggle to slide out.

[@KramarD]

Got way too worked up for such a simple malfunction. Three Ss. If not EPs. Could have landed with toggles offset too. Why the hell wait so far past decision altitude? Keeping calm and making decisions is key

[@alerag2298]

With the last 180 turn on the reserve at 400Ft I guessed his next smart move were to catch the freebag at mid air

[@samanderson9722]

you are gnarly bro!!

[@stephenstewart13]

Try that in a T10 where some rigger put the toggle in in wone of the pass throghs. Ended up in a death spiral. Had to climb the riser to fix it. Landed bad. Continued Mission despite the pain. Kept packing tag. That rigger is nolonger with us.

[@wyominglife3202]

I'm not a skydiver. But I imagine it's really hard to cut loose from an open parachute, even if it's not working quite right. I can understand the temptation to try to make the open parachute work somehow. Glad he made it down safe!

[@mblitch]

"But I imagine it's really hard to cut loose from an open parachute" Stop guessing. No, it isn't "hard".

[@wyominglife3202]

@@mblitch Sounds like there's a good story behind this comment. :-)

[@mblitch]

@@wyominglife3202 10 years of skydiving. Not a single cut-away, but the 2-ring release mechanism is standard and it works.

[@stasacab]

You know, the good thing about tandem jumps is that you will never end up being featured in Friday Freakouts.

[@bazman2150]

Tandems are the best freakouts, so much more to go wrong.😂

[@DAllan-lz3lg]

I’m not a parachutist but I’d say his biggest victory was not getting shredded by that helicopter

[@timmathys6133]

😂

[@bigmodsgarage]

n00b here.. are the chutes done once they are cutaway? How literal are the cutting aspect of things. This technology is amazing

[@atsantes]

Not done, no actual cutting. You're basically just "disconnecting" the main canopy from the rig, but it can be used again.

[@bonefishboards]

Does the reserve chute ever go funky, too? That would be bad.

[@RwP223]

Nice landing on the reserve, I assume those can be more spicy

[@yarpos]

depends how you load them, they dont have to be

[@RwP223]

@@yarpos I carry one sized for me and it's bigger than I imagined, so I can see some folks going smaller sizing just to stay light and compact.

[@fabieng6864]

Good job man...god bless you

[@Jackmerius_Tacktheritrix5733]

Shopping list: New main chute New pair of boxers

[@benedikt5974]

and new handles ! Cut away higher - keep them handles! ;)

[@LucasWills]

Nah, he found his main.

[@barrellmeister]

2000ft is the lowest I have been told to cut away. Even if the parachute looked normal but didn't steer properly at 2000ft I'd cut away (obviously after identifying and correcting nuisance factors). (5 jumps so far). Did the issue occur below 2000ft?