What was meant to be a spotlight of an Australian air present —16 skydivers in formation, leaping from 15,000 ft — went terribly mistaken simply because the cameraman and first skydiver stepped out of the door over Tully Airport in Far North Queensland.
A reserve parachute deployed by mistake, knocking the digital camera operator into free fall and flinging the skydiver into the aircraft’s stabilizer on the wing.
Dramatic video of the Sept. 20 incident was launched Thursday by the Australian Transport Security Bureau. In its ultimate report, the company discovered the deal with on the reserve parachute snagged on the airplane’s wing flap, inflicting it to deploy.
Whereas dangling beneath the Cessna, the skydiver used a hook knife to noticed by the strains of the reserve chute one after the other, till it lastly broke free. However there was one other tense second after the primary parachute received tangled with the remnants of the reserve cover.
The parachutist was in a position to untangle the strains and achieve management earlier than touchdown safely on the bottom with solely minor accidents, in response to the ATSB. The Cessna’s left horizontal stabilizer was additionally broken, but it surely finally landed safely.
In a press release, ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell stated the incident ought to function a reminder for skydivers to be conscious of their handles, particularly when exiting an plane.
“Carrying a hook knife — though it’s not a regulatory requirement — could possibly be lifesaving within the occasion of a untimely reserve parachute deployment,” Mitchell stated.
