Jethers203

I never meant to criticize to harshly, but I can see where I came off that way. I will admit, the bottom line is that he did handle the situation well, did not panic, and learned a very important lesson in the process. Hey, Glamorizing keeps life interesting. I just feel there are 3 main reasons why a parachute malfunctions and I wanted to know why his chute did what it did. I still haven't heard the exact reason for the problem, just theories. If it were me in the situation, I would want to know without a doubt why my chute messed with me. I would not want a repeat of the situation to happen again. Luck only lasts for so long. I guess it is different strokes for diffrent folks. I'm glad though everything turned out well and things were learned. I will try not to stray from the point of DZ.com in the future. John D-24352

Jack really. Same with the Marine recruiters as well. I personally only got some props after both the Army and Marine's discovered that I was a D-Licensed skydiver with over 400 jumps at the time. Props also came when they found out that 5 of those jumps were to get my Royal Netherland Airborne Wings from the Dutch Army. I think however that it was more shocking for them to hear because they were all LEGS(non-jumpers) and a 17 year old high school kid wasn't. Thanks POP. John D-24352

AggieDave, I am not trying to discredit you by any means. I think it is admirable that you shared your screw up so that others could learn. I was just trying to figure out what could have been the problem if those three things had been done correctly. John D-24352

Just out of curiosity, what constitutes a professional packer? How many jumps do you have? I personally think you should be a pretty experienced skydiver to be a packer. It is one thing to just pack parachutes, and another to know exactly what that parachute can do as it leaves the container. To know how it feels and the possibilities of the things that can happen regarding packing techniques and body position upon opening. John D-24352

Congrats Luke. Stick with the sport and get others involved. I think it is the best sport in the world.

AggieDave, Glad all is well and you didn't quit jumping, but can you clarify some things for me. "So I let up, letting my canopy surge forward with speed. I setup about 5' to the right of a building, had to swoop between two trees that were about 12' apart, carving around a large sign in the yard, but not able to go straight due to a parking lot with cars in it. So I continued to carve to the right, having to swoop under another set of powerlines. I had put my feet down quickly, trying to stop. I did stop (standing up, strangely enough), on the other side of a ditch I just went over, about 2 feet from a highway." Damn, that is hard core. 12' with like a 20' span, carving around signs and buildings, over ditches and under powerlines. You need to compete in swooping competitions or have a movie made. I bet it could be better than "CUTAWAY". Sounds like bad body position or poor pack job. Maybe just a wack canopy overall. I will refer to the three things why a parachute malfunctions in most cases. 1) Poorly maintained or damaged equipment. 2) Bad body position on opening. 3) Poor pack job. You can almost always relate any problem to one of these reasons. What chute was it anyway? A Heatwave?