A Blown Up Canopy
On opening, this canopy went into a sharp spiraling turn and one whole side of the canopy was severely compromised. After properly executed malfunction procedures and a safe landing, we recovered the main canopy.
All the lines from one front riser had broken, 3 at the riser end and 2 had been ripped from the bottom skin of the canopy.
The canopy was a 7 cell and all three cells on the left of center had blown out, either blowing apart the seams at the rib or blowing through the rear seam of the canopy.
I sent the canopy back to the manufacturer and one of their riggers (Cliff Dobson) did a tremendous job of "forensic rigging".
It certainly appears that the sequence of events was that;
3 of the lines from the front riser were burned through
The other 2 lines were torn from the bottom skin
With no support from the lines the canopy did what it was meant to and failed at the seams, blowing apart.
All of this happened in a split second. You should never underestimate the kinetic energy released during a canopy deployment, if you've ever experienced line dump you'll know what I am referring to.
So what could have caused this? It is hard to be sure, but the burns on the A lines seem to have been caused by the steering line which had a "hot" or "flat" spot on it. This would indicate a "steering line step through".
This can happen when a canopy is brought back from the landing area badly, and not cleared during the packing process. There are at least three ways to help prevent this.
- While at the landing area, daisy chain your lines. If the canopy collapsed over your head when you landed, get a rigger to inspect it before you pack it, they'll likely charge you, but it will be a lot less than the cost of a reserve repack. Don't just bundle up your rig, and the lines, in your arms, carry it back and dump it on the floor, hoping it's okay.
- When packing, after you have run the line groups up through your fingers, reach over the front of the slider and pull up the steering lines (one side at a time) to ensure they are not wrapped around any lines between the slider and the attachment points.
- If you don't want to daisy chain your lines, do not lay your canopy down on the floor of the packing room, let the lines fall into it and then lay your container on top and walk away. It is very easy for the container to be passed through a line group as it gets picked up.
See Item #2 to the left