An eyewitness to Erins accident asked me to post this report.
Facts:
Erin was jumping a BASE specific Velcro rig, F-111 7 cell canopy with a tail pocket and a mesh slider. The wing loading was approximately 0.67 lb./sq. ft. The rig was in excellent condition. It was owned and consistently used to jump big walls by an experienced base jumper. It was meticulously packed slider up PRO, using clamp technique. Erin assisted in the pack job.
Erin had successfully jumped the same cliff, rig and packing technique the previous day. That jump was uneventful, with the exception of a quite head low exit, which she easily corrected in free fall.
The conditions at the time of the accident were perfect for jumping. The area was dominated by high pressure. The wind was light & variable at the top and in the landing area.
Erins initial exit was head high, but slightly left shoulder low. She immediately looked sharply left and down. This action initiated a rolling left turn. After approximately 3 seconds the witness lost sight of her below the overhang. She was in a head down attitude with her back to the wall.
At approximately 7-8 Seconds the witness saw her canopy open. Her canopy opened on exit heading, away from the wall and appeared normal and symmetric from above.
Shortly after opening, the canopy began a right turn toward the wall. She corrected by turning back to the left, toward the landing area. Shortly afterward, the canopy began a second right turn, which she then again corrected to the left. The canopy began a third right turn that developed into an approximate three turn spiral. With the resulting altitude loss she became closer to the wall, as it slopes out near the bottom of the cliff.
She appeared to be recovering from the spiral, however the recovery heading resulted in a substantial impact with the wall. She slid down the wall until her canopy reinflated. It then began a slight right turn that resulted in a secondary strike. The result of the second strike was the same as the first. After the third strike, she slid down and came to rest approximately 100 above the talus.
Speculation:
From the available evidence, it appeared that the nature of the canopy problem may have been severe line twist. The witness further speculates that she was still head low and rolling during deployment, thus inducing the twists. He believes that after the first heading recovery, she attempted to kick out of the twists, then abandoned that effort to regain heading control. On the second attempt to clear the twists, the turn developed into a spiral. It was not prudent to examine the gear at the scene, therefore it is unknown if any toggles were unstowed.
Conclusion:
When Erin began working the problem, she had a safe heading and adequate horizontal separation from the cliff. However, the altitude loss that resulted from the turns and the spiral changed her horizontal proximity. In the area where Erin was working her problem, there is a high degree of slope in the terrain. If she could control her initial heading, it is possible that she could have flown well away from the cliff while in the twists, and not lost much of her working altitude. However, such an assessment would have taken a very high level of awareness.
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