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While I do not know if a fatality has ever occurred because of a ripped shoulder zipper, there is proof (I wish the jumper made the video public) that a shoulder zipper has ripped/come undone during a skydive. Even if it was the cause of a fatality, it would probably be difficult to find out if the zipper was the cause.

In this case the wingsuiter was flying when the shoulder zipper ripped/came undone (properly closed, no gear mistake). The sleeve started sliding and covering the hand completely. The hand was deep inside the sleeve. There was no way of pulling. It took the jumper 30+ seconds to get the hand out while trying to fly stable. If it's a wingsuit with cutaway handles, I guess there is the possibility of pulling it and trying to pull then. Without cutaway cables, the jumper would have to open the arm zipper and then pull or try to pull with the other hand. I think this might be even more difficult.

I am curious, do jumpers take this unlikely scenario into consideration and train for it?
I am also curious if people have added mods to strengthen this part of the shoulder zipper?

He couldn't use his other hand?

Zipper broke or was not properly closed/ gear mistake?
Which kind of suit?
The big zippers now on all ws are quite strong.

Indeed, seems like a good time to pop the reserve if this happens on a skydive.

Yeah, that was my first thought too!

Anyways, you are solely responsible for the condition of the gear you jump... How can you be absolutely sure the zipper was rigged correctly?

Occasionally I will do practise pulls with my left hand in my living room

Olee,

I think I've mentioned to you that this happened to me as well. I was skydiving my Havok and the right shoulder zip blew out almost immediately. I didn't think the gear was in disrepair at the time, but after that I had both zippers replaced to be sure. I've rigged the suit up hundreds of times and am very confident it was not mis-rigged.

I was able to fly stable for the duration of the flight though I hooked my wrist as much as I could to prevent the wing from sliding down over my hand. At pull time I was able to pull without issue.

My thought is that if your hand is completely covered you should go for the cutaway, but even that will be tough if it's moved down your arm.

On a BASE jump pulling relatively low? I think you're probably in trouble. Take care of your gear and it will (probably) take care of you.

Sorry, if I was not clear in my first statement. On a Skydive, not really an issue.

I am curious about the scenario with a single parachute.

Do you know what brand the zipper is for the Havok? I remember my mom telling me about being able to tell a fake purse by the cheap zipper they use, because YKK is the gold standard that everyone uses (like Keener Rubber Company). The only manufacturer I've seen advertising that they use a YKK zipper is Squirrel. I wouldn't be surprised if they had done a blowout load test on them either.

My old t-bird has bomb proof 10mm YKK zippers and I have never had a problem. The still perform excellent after all these years. Older Phoenix-fly zippers were not the best. I've flown both a V3 and V4 and the zipper quality is apparent, both visually and during use. I think Phoenix is using 10mm YKk now but I'm not sure.

My Venom Power has YKK 10 zippers. Not sure about the smaller suits, but I'd imagine they are the same?

I've seen this first hand on an older havok.

The zippers were the newer YKK style. Suit was made in 2013 if I recall correctly. I also had a V4 with the older, smaller, crappier zippers. The Havok did not have those old zippers.

I believe the blowout was cause by the male end of the zipper fraying and loosening. With that wear it was able to slide out of the female end and then start unzipping itself from the wrong end.

ive had my entire P3 arm wing unzip itself in mid flight (on a skydive), multiple times. No rigging errors, multiple checks in the plane before exit. Robi said it shouldnt be an issue, and that the wing will stay inflated (which it did) but i really dont like the idea of this happening. Of course just my opinion, but this is another of many reasons why i do not give business to phoenix fly. the suit was made in 2013.

It shouldn't be an issue?! That is a huge and potentially life threatning issue! God damn...