Container Lock

A jumper flying her wingsuit attempted to deploy her main canopy at 3,500 feet. A few seconds after she threw her pilot chute, she saw the pilot chute trailing behind her, so she pulled her reserve ripcord. The reserve deployed and was fully inflated by 2,000 feet. The main canopy remained in the container after the reserve deployed.

Upon landing, the jumper discovered that the main container locked closed when the closing pin jammed into the collapsible-pilot-chute-indicator window on the pilot chute bridle. The closing pin on this jumper’s equipment attached via a tab to the side of the bridle, which provided enough slack to allow it to wedge into the indicator window. Some manufacturers have developed alternative packing instructions that route the main bridle below the main container flaps to prevent this type of malfunction from occurring.