ARGUS owners and Riggers please read

[LouDiamond 1]

The following bulletin was issued by PIA in reference to the incidents that have occurred with the ARGUS AAD. The mentioned attachments which include photos and accident reports can be referenced at the PIA website at the bottom of the page, here: http://www.pia.com/TechnicalSpecialPage.htm

Several harness container manufactures have already issued bulletins announcing that ARGUS AADs are not to be used in their systems until further notice. Please contact your specific harness manufacturer if you are unsure of the status of your system or have specific questions pertaining to your systems use of the ARGUS AAD.

If you are a Rigger, please take note of the second to the last paragraph in the bulletin (in bold below) as it addresses potential violations of the CFR's if you pack an ARGUS in a harness container system that the manufacturer has rescinded it's approval of.


From the PIA website:

To All Harness/Container Manufacturers:

As you may or may not be aware, there has been another (3rd) incident involving the ARGUS AAD. Information about the 3 incidents is reported in this email: Poland 7/2009, Portugal 9/3/2010, and Texas, USA 2/21/2011. Attached are the reports from each incident, the Aviacom Service Bulletin and some additional information. This same information is located at the following link http://www.pia.com/TechnicalSpecialPage.htm (for those of you who did not receive an email with attachments, your server would not allow the 4.7mb attachment through, please use the web link to access the data package)

PIA is not a regulatory body, and this information is being distributed as "information only," You will need to make your own decisions as to continued installation approvals, however in the interests of safety, the PIA Technical Committee believes that it is prudent that each harness and container manufacturer company review their company’s documentation and approvals for any and all AAD installations into your TSO’d systems. After reviewing your documentation and the information enclosed in this email, please consider the original basis for approving each installation, and ensure that you are confident that each of the units you have approved for installation will not interfere with normal operation of the TSO’d components.

If your confidence level is not acceptable, action may be required by your company to amend or rescind such approvals and to inform your customer base of any changes to the status of the installation approvals. At least one manufacturer has elected to no longer approve any procedures to install the Argus AAD in any of their products. Since they have also rescinded any prior approved procedures to do so, it could be a violation of 14 CFR Part 65.129(e), if a certificated parachute rigger were to pack any of their harness and container systems with an Argus AAD installed. Further, it could be a violation of 14 CFR Part 65.129(b) if, because of the installation of the Argus AAD, a parachute were to be deemed by the FAA to not be safe for emergency use.

In formulating your confidence levels, please direct all questions and concerns regarding operation, function and installation of AAD’s to the individual AAD manufacturers and not to PIA or any of its representatives.

Regards,
Dave Singer
PIA Technical Committee Chair

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