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I've seen 2 or 3 skydiving malfunctions recently in which the closing pin poked through the bridle at bridle stretch, effectively locking the main in the container. From what I understand all jumpers safely deployed their reserves and landed unharmed.

My question is of course, is this possible with a dual-pin single parachute rig (such as apex DP)? If not, why not? If so, what can jumpers do to prevent this? Obviously if this happened on a BASE container it would be a total with no chance for survival.

For all that didnt see it yet, here some pictures of what that looks like:
http://www.uspa.org/...mfid/19/Default.aspx

this could theoretically happen if you (badly) misroute your bridle.
to prevent shit like that from happening, use a bridle that fits the container (-> has enough slack of bridle inbetween the pins when closed), and leave some slack between the top pin and the point where the bridle goes into the rig. stick to the pin orientation that is shown in the manual.
basically all that infos above should be in the manual of your rig,but pack it, and try to figure out a way of bridle routing where this could happen (and dont ever pack it like that).

ciao

(edited to make clicky...)

bridle is part of the container and comes with it if you buy a new one.
if you need a new one you get them from the container manufacturer. (they maybe even ask you for what size the container was built since the spacing between the pins may vary because of that, at least morpheus wants to know that...)

you can of course use a bridle of another container on yours or get one made, but take care that theres enough slack between the pins when the container is closed.
also be aware that some manufacturers do things differently for a reason, for example, there was a problem with old morpheus bridles because the stiching at the pins was too stiff (i think tom has details to this issue), they now built them differently, maybe if you use a new bridle of a different manufacturer you have the same shit again...

ciao

 

The person packing it did not push it through the bridle. This was as a result of not enough slack left in the bridle on the canopy side of the pin and the force applied to the bridle from the PC pushed it through.
Hope this helps.
take care,
space

wow. I learned something new. :)

 

The PC applied the the force.
Due to the geometry of the applied extraction force being in a different angular direction than inserting the pin, it would not be necessary to utilize a tremendous amount of force to insert the pin. It could still be as per norm.

difficulties of gear inspection regularly??? i can help you ;)

I have seen similar PC in tow mals at DZ's. Means whoever packed was an idiot.

If you don't leave enough slack for the pin to lift before it comes tight where it goes into the container, you are dead.

I looked at one of these that was packed for a skydiving student once, and I could grab the bridle and swing the rig around my head without the pin releasing.

Something to be said for skydiving a lot when doing BASE and becoming really gear familiar and good at canopy skills.

Tom Cosgriff jumped a 1000 foot building back in the early eighties with this same thing. Luckily it was in the days of jumping skydiving containers and he got his reserve open at about 100 feet. This is one of the stupidest packing mistakes on Earth.

The velcro above the 2nd pin is there to prevent that from happening. Always check your shit before you go.

regular gear checks are useless at preventing a problem if you don't know what causes it... thanks for all the info guys