Double Tandem Malfunction @ Gold Coast

[kevin922 0]

Ok guys, I just recently moved to VA (like 2 days ago) but this happened at my old DZ, gold coast skydivers in Mississippi. Evidently this past weekend a tandem had a lineover malfunction which he cut away from - when he deployed the reserve he had tension knots which made the canopy extremely hard to maneuver. They hit a pine tree the tandem student is in the hospital with compression fractures, the tandem master had to have stitches but that was about it.
That's all I know at this time, sorry.
Kevin
http://www.interone.net

[Jimbo 0]

Wow. A double mal is never a good thing, but I'm happy to hear that both student and tandem master are alive and mostly well.
-
Jim

[freeflir29 0]

That blows Shetland ponies like an Amsterdam sex show!
"Show me your Tits" -Me
Clay

[Iflyme 0]

Quote

That blows Shetland ponies like an Amsterdam sex show!

huh? Witty reply, but what the hell are you talking about...

[freeflir29 0]

Cause chics blow Shetland ponies in Amsterdam sex shows......and having to do that would suck. Just like having a double mal....
"Show me your Tits" -Me
Clay

[Jumperpaula 0]

Speedy recovery to the student and to the Jumper in Command.
I wonder if the student knew they were in trouble?
Tension knots on the reserve toggles? Anyone know what kind of rig?
Fly Your Slot !

[Jimbo 0]

Here's an article from a local paper describing the accident.
http://web.sunherald.com/content/biloxi/2001/08/07/pageone/0807_skydivers.htm
Not a bad article from the whuffo press either....

[Grogs 0]

Wow. That's got to be the best newspaper report I've ever seen about a skydiving accident. Words like 'tension knot' usually don't appear in newspaper articles. It's usually just a bunch of crap about how the 'parachute failed to open'.
Here's another version of the story that was (I believe) posted up on rec.skydiving and e-mailed to me:

Quote

On Saturday, August 4th, Carl Jordan, one of my
tandem masters at Gold Coast Skydivers, my colleague and more importantly, my
friend, became the 3rd person to achieve "hero" status in my eyes. Because of
his actions, experience, cool headedness and never give up attitude, he and his
tandem passenger were able to survive a skydiver's worst nightmare, the dreaded
double malfunction. Both got banged up pretty good but with minimal injuries.
Carl was released from the hospital that afternoon and his passenger was kept
for observation with a fractured vertebrae. It could easily have been a double
fatality. The sequence of events started with a tension knot on the main, an
EZ 384. After cutting away, Carl looked up to see a tension knot on his PD 360
reserve. The knot had the slider hung up to the point that it was causing the
right nose to collapse, which in turn caused the canopy to violently spin to
the right. He pulled the left steering toggle down to the point where the spin
would stop, but the canopy would stall. He handed the left toggle to the
student and had him hold it down while he used both hands, to no avail, to try
and relieve the tension on the right side. A hook knife is useless with this
type malfunction. At this point, the student asked Carl if they were gonna
die. He calmly told him that the situation was bad, but that he was gonna do
everything in his power to see that they both survived. The student told the
local press that he wasn't scared because Carl wasn't. We all know that isn't
true but all tandem masters know the last thing they need is a panicky
passenger during a crisis. Carl developed a plan and worked it to perfection.
Because the toggle pressure was so high, he decided to let the canopy spin for
awhile, then he would stop it and the canopy would immediately stall. He knew
that they would not survive spinning into the ground nor having the canopy
stall at a high altitude and drop them into the ground. His plan was to try
and time it just right and have the canopy stall at a survivable height. His
plan worked!! The impact was lessened by the fact that the reserve momentarily
snagged in a tree on the way down. The passenger unhooked himself because Carl
was temporarily rendered unconscious. Both were bruised up pretty good and the
passenger did have a hairline fracture of his L4. Considering the alternative,
the injuries were minimal. Watching this double malfunction from the ground
was the worst thing I have ever witnessed in skydiving, so I can only imagine
what Carl was feeling. In the 26 years I have been in the sport, I have never
seen anything like it. I don't want this to develop into a "who packed the
main" or "who packed the reserve" debate. The only tandem malfunction I
experienced in 2000 tandem jumps was a tension knot, on a main that I packed.
Sometimes things just fall into the "shit happens" category. The point of this
posting is to acknowledge a skydiver for his heroic actions. Carl Jordan is
not a well known skydiving celebrity, just a guy who works construction during
the week and skydives for fun on the weekends, and has been doing it for over a
decade. He's the kind of guy you see around the DZ that helps out anyway he
can, from doing tandems to packing student rigs, to picking up soda cans at the
end of the day. He's my kind of guy and the newest "hero" on my short list.
Next time you're at the DZ, at the end of the day raise a beer in toast to my
friend Carl Jordan.
Mike Igo, DZO
Gold Coast Skydivers

[freeflir29 0]

Pretty awesome story. Definately a hero. Does the USPA have awards for this sort of thing? If there is one I believe we have a candidate.
"I.....am Powdered Toast Man!"
Clay

[skymedic 0]

I am gonna raise more than just one to the guy this weekend...what a story.
Marc
Here I come to save the day!!!!!!!!!!!

[rainman 0]

Wow!
If I ever buy an encyclopedia, I want this guy's picture right next to the definition of the word 'hero'!!!!!
If I can ever be half this cool during an emergency of any kind, I will be proud of myself!
Ramon