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From: artb@hplsla.HP.COM (Art Bori)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Tandem Incident
Message-ID: <6730092@hplsla.HP.COM>
Date: 2 May 91 19:33:27 GMT
Organization: HP Lake Stevens, WA
Lines: 35

On the local news last night (May 1) there was a segment about an unusual
tandem "malfunction."  This occurred in England when a tandem exited with
a video man.  As the video man closed in on the tandem he saw that they were
slowly spinning underneath the drogue.  They were on their side and slowly
rotating about the connection point of the drogue.  Apparently, when the 
tandem pilot threw out the drogue, the line wrapped around the pilot's 
neck.  This not only caused the rotation (pivoting around the pilot's 
neck) but also caused the tandem pilot to black out.  The newsreporter
said that the tandem passenger had no idea that anything was going wrong.
The video man was able to close on the spinning pair and deploy the reserve
chute.  It's unclear if the tandem pilot regained consciousness but 
the report did say the landing was safe or uneventful or words to that
effect.

Except for the line burns around the pilot's neck there were no other
injuries. 

The video man did an exceptional job in closing on the tandem.  They
weren't spinning totally out of control but enough so that it was 
not only challenging but dangerous.  In talking to a couple of
tandem pilots, they tell me that it is very easy to do what this
tandem pilot did.  If the tandem pilot throws out the drogue while 
on their side, especially if they're in a psuedo barrel-roll, that it's
very easy for the drogue to get caught in the burble and flop around.

Pretty amazing stuff.  Of course the save by the video man was laudatitory
but then to have it captured on video was pretty unique.  I thought
it was interesting that the news anchor made a slightly snide comment 
about "everything" being captured on videotape but not anything 
derogatory about skydiving.


Blue skies,
Art Bori
D-11402