INVESTIGATORS RELEASE FINDINGS OF PARACHUTING MISHAP

  • Published
  • By AIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING COMMAND NEWS SERVICE (AETCNS)
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS) --  In December, the Air Force released its investigation of the June 25 parachute accident at the Air Force Academy, Colo., that resulted in major injuries to a student jumper enrolled in Airmanship 490 (basic parachute training course).

The accident investigation board determined that the cause of the mishap was the student's failure to provide proper steering inputs to the west on his final leg, as directed. The improper steering started the chain of events that ended with the victim impacting a windsock pole.

After completing his first jump and debrief success- fully, Cadet Matthew Pirrello,
a Reserve Officer Training Corps student at Ohio University, geared-up for the second of his five jumps. The student jumper and nine others boarded a UV-18B Twin Otter aircraft. Following takeoff, the UV-18 ascended jump altitude over the drop zone.

According to the investigation report, the student jumper exited the plane and flew the parachute canopy within allowable limits until setting up for his final approach to the landing point. It was then that the student jumper failed to notice crosswinds from the west. This was caused by a breakdown in visual scans for windsocks because of channelized attention (a focus on landing on the preferred landing point).

The breakdown in scanning and the channelized attention led to diminished control of the canopy and failure to correct for winds to the west, which is a procedural error that was a major factor in the mishap.

His landing controller had advised the student jumper by radio to make course adjustments to the west. Pirrello acknowledged he heard radio calls, but he was unable to execute the course corrections as directed. Additionally, as the student jumper continued down, he saw the obstacles ahead of him and misjudged his speed, closure and distance from them. Because of this he made a 90-degree turn to try and miss the windsock pole leading to over control of the canopy and, ultimately, impact with the windsock pole.