Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!mcsun!ukc!axion!tharr!zebedee!geoffc
From: geoffc@zebedee%tharr.uucp (Geoffrey Coan)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Re: Tandem Incident
Message-ID: <1835638@zebedee%tharr.uucp>
Date: 8 May 91 22:05:02 GMT
References: <6730092@hplsla.HP.COM>
Reply-To: geoffc.zebedee@tharr.uucp
Organization: Geoffrey Coan (disorganisation)
Lines: 38
X-Version: Rodney's UUCP modules 02/11/90 V1.18

In article <6730092@hplsla.HP.COM> artb@hplsla.HP.COM (Art Bori) writes:
> 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.
As a bit of a follow-up to this, it appears that the tandem master deployed
the drogue chute whilst they were still unstable (ie: very soon out of the
aircraft) and it wrapped around his neck causing the blackout.

The camera-man deployed the reserve at approx 2,300 ft (left aircraft at
12,000 feet) and once the tension was released on the drogue the tandem
master regained consiousness and landed normally.

The bit about the passenger not noticing anything is true as well, he thought
that it was all part of the fun !

> Blue skies,
> Art Bori
> D-11402

Blue Skies

Geoffrey
--
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are you ready to SKYDIVE ??                                       Geoffrey Coan
well all right then, if you say so ...        ..!ukc!axion!tharr!zebedee!geoffc

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