Skydiving is a high-octane activity that fuses the adrenaline rush of freefall with the tranquility of a parachute descent. Although thankfully the majority of jumps occur without any major issues, emergencies can and do happen which demand urgent decisions followed by a specific response to land safely. In this recent article, we have endeavored to lay out a complete guide on how safely handling emergency landings through expert advice, industry best practices and live examples.
Most Common Skydiving Emergencies Explained
Parachute Malfunctions
From line twists to total malfunctions, parachute system problems can differ in their intensity.
Common Malfunctions
- Line Twists: Lines twist above the parachute, leading to a spinning descent.
- Slider Up: The slider makes the deployment easier but freezes up at top which creates partial opening of parachute.
- Premature Brake Release: If your brake lines release prematurely it will cause a quick and uncontrolled descent.
- Partial Deployment (Bag LOCK): The parachute deploys, but the bag that contains it does not fully release.
Similarly, Total Malfunction—the main simply doesn’t deploy and you must use reserve.
Environmental Factors
Emergency situations can be caused by environmental factors like wind speed, weather changes, and the above mentioned terrain. Strong winds, rapid weather change, or landing direction unfamiliar to the pilot may cause high demand situations.
Personal Health Issues
Emergencies can be caused by health problems, like if someone experiences unexpected medical emergencies or gets injured during the jump. Being in good health is very important and it is also your responsibility to inform the instructor of medical conditions.
Pre-Jump Preparation
The more prepared you are, the better in a crisis.
Some Things to Do Before You Even Get on the Plane
Training and Repetition
- Observe Emergency Procedures: Simulate emergency procedures continuously as described before (cutaway and reserve deployments).
- Practicing emergency drills: Engage in drills capable to replicate and model a number of emergencies that can help you create muscle memory as well as fast reflexes.
Equipment Checks
- Gear Checks: Perform gear checks religiously before each jump. Verify main and emergency parachute, harnesses, AAD.
- Know Your Equipment: Learn about your equipment inside and out, including how to troubleshoot common problems.
Mental Preparation
- Be Calm: Being mentally ready is one of the key points. Relaxing your body and mind by focusing on deep breathing or doing imagery can help you keep calm, even in tight situations.
- Memorize and make emergency procedures second nature
In-Air Emergency Response
In a skydiving emergency, you have to act fast. The way to take it ahead as per the scenarios are:
Parachute Malfunctions
Line Twists
- Problem: Determine spinning motion, look up to see if there are line twists.
- Spread Your Legs and Kick: This will help to untwist the lines. Being wipe is the point where you keep close to stable position of your body.
- Consider Altitude: If the twists have not fixed themselves and you are still low be ready to chop.
Slider Up
- If that fails, pull down on the brake lines repeatedly to try and get the slider out of brakes.
- Verify Maximum Extent: If the slider is not moving and your canopy hasn’t fully been inflated, you should be ready to cutaway.
Premature Brake Release
- Direct the Spin: Pull both brake lines equally to get your bearings back under control.
- Check the Canopy: If your canopy is unstable, spinning badly or out of control; Prepare to cutaway.
Bag Lock
- Any candid bag lock confirmation: Look and Find Looking Up.
- Deploy the reserve: Cutaway instantly and deploy your reserve.
Total Malfunction
- Be Able to Respond: Cutaway and deploy your reserve parachute if the main does not launch.
Environmental Emergencies
High Winds
- Into Wind: Headless winds when landing to decrease groundspeed;
- Get Ready to Land Hard: Bend your knees for a hard landing, and prepare yourself to roll into it.
Weather Changes
- Residential Conditions: Be sure that the weather is at place long before jumping and during the jump.
- Change Landing Spot: Be prepared to change up your landing location as needed by the weather.
Health Emergencies
Mid-Air Medical Issues
- Call For Help: Signal with your hands to the best of your ability that you are in distress.
- Open Parachute Early: If possible, open your parachute as soon as you can to give yourself the most time in case of a malfunction.
- Ease the Landing: Focus on getting down in one piece (even if roughly).
Crash Landing Techniques
After dealing with the emergency and deploying a parachute, your attention goes on landing as safely as possible. Detailed techniques for landing off airport safely in a range of emergency scenarios.
High-Wind Landings
Landing in high winds is difficult. Here’s how to handle them:
- Into the Wind: Make sure your canopy is flying into wind as you approach landing. As a result, this will decrease your ground speed and allow for more velocity-space room when it comes time to land.
- The landing flare: Make sure you execute a full on-stage or stall (pull both toggles) before making contact with the ground.
- Roll: Knees should be closer to the ground and get ready for a parachute landing fall (PLF).
Rough Terrain Landings
When Landing on Unfamiliar Rough Terrain
- Dangers to watch out for: These include trees, rocks, and uneven terrain.
- Pick a bright place: Go to the brightest area you possibly can, even if it is a long walk back.
- The PLF: Do a parachute landing fall to reduce the chance of injury. If fall, roll from foot to your side so that the shock is distributed.
Water Landings
Swimmers should be aware of the following procedures for surviving a water landing:
- Drop the Bait, Shake The Logic: Like before getting into water jar out your harness to drop everything and stuck of hooked.
- Hide Yo Face: Chin to chest, hands protecting your face and the top of your head.
- Swim Away: Once you hit the water, swim away from the canopy and lines to avoid their deployment.
Building or Tree Landings
If you are aiming for a building or tree:
- Protect yourself: Use your face and head to cover with the arm on or use arms to defend against impact.
- Land on Thicker Branches: When you make it to a tree, try and land in the thicker branches.
- Remain In Location: When you make landfall, do not leave that location and wait for your rescue. We recommend you NOT to climb down as it could even be more risky.
Night Landings
Additional Slewing (Due to Night Landing)
- These lights have two rarity levels, with the common light being white and rare one green. Wear a Light: If you got one put on your head.
- Hear for Dangers: Concentrate on noises responsible for alerts.
- Keep close, low and find a flat clear landing area. Use an all-out flare. Your descent will decrease rapidly.
Post-Landing Procedures
Once you land, safety should be your number one priority. Here are the steps to follow:
Assess Injuries
- Check Yourself: Take 60 seconds, perform this quick body/self-assessment; – anything feeling funky or different?
- Position yourself to safety: If you find out that your feet landed in a hazardous place then move from the place if no more catastrophe would come.
Signal for Help
- Deploy Distress Signals: Use distress signals and/or body motions indicating help is required.
- Get a message to the Ground Crew: If you can reach out and inform ground crew or emergency services where your pack is, how your animal may respond when they are nearby.
Gear Management
- Collect and Tie down gear to keep it from becoming hazardous to yourself or others.
- Damage Inspection: Take appropriate observation of your gear regarding potential damages following the emergency.
Real-Life Case Studies
This should also include learning from real-life emergencies where experiences may be collated and used to develop lessons learned. Here are a few examples illustrating how the failure to be prepared and respond properly can have disastrous results:
Case Study 1: Low Altitude Line Twists
A skydiver who encountered violent line twists soon after opening and just about at the end of his jump, when there was not much time to act. The skydiver worked to kick out the twists but soon realized he was not high enough. They pulled their cutaway and reserve parachutes deployed with a good landing area below. This is an example to show why quick decisions and cutting away are so important.
Case Study 2: Botched High-Wind Landing
The skydivers were apparently surprised by high winds they encountered on their descent. One skydiver did not make his turn into the wind which resulted in a high ground speed and hard landing, breaking an ankle. Furthermore, other skydivers who opted not to turn into the wind and conducted a PLF landed without injury. This underscores the need to adapt landing styles depending on environmental factors.
Case Study 3: Emergency in the Air
Heart Attack During a Skydive: The skydiver had a heart condition that was known and he suffered from what is thought to be the second one while in free fall. The skydiver sounded an alarm to the others who helped them and controlled their fall as much as possible. When the plane landed, first aid was provided by ground staff and emergency services were called. Other skydivers and members of the ground crew acted fast, using a defibrillator on that person which is an example as to why communication about health emergencies when jumping out of airplanes can save someone’s life.
Conclusion
Even with the more challenging types of emergencies, a well-trained jumper who goes in prepared and to act will get out just fine. Repetition of emergency procedures, detailed equipment checks and your brain ready to go in a seconds notice are all important features that should be practiced by skydivers. If you remain calm and stick to existing processes, skydivers can control emergencies well enough that sports enthusiasts are safe.