Canopy collisions are a fairly common cause of skydiving fatalities. The sport has seen improvement in recent years because drop zones have become more diligent about separating high-performance and standard landings and have also spent more effort educating jumpers on the importance of proper landing patterns, exit separation and separation during deployment. But unfortunately, fatal collisions still happen. In part, this is because many licensed jumpers haven’t given much thought to collisions and have only a vague recollection from their student days that they should turn right if they find themselves on a collision course. Few skydivers seem to know the difference between a wrap and an entanglement, and even fewer yet know how to handle them accordingly.
Hearing about wraps and entanglements often causes jumpers to say, “That is exactly why I will never do CF.” Certainly, no one should take part in a discipline that they don’t wish to, but CF skills may very well come in handy (or even be lifesaving) on any jump. Have you ever had your helmet’s visor fog up? Been under canopy in poor visibility due to weather? Been on a load with someone uncurrent or flying recklessly? All of these can factor into canopy collisions. And all of us fly relative to other canopies every time we fly to our holding areas and enter our landing patterns. The CF skill set becomes even more useful when participating in big-ways and landing in congested traffic. Furthermore, those who participate in high-performance-canopy flocks (which are becoming increasingly popular) should receive this important education. If you think a CF entanglement is scary, just think about an unintentional entanglement with tiny canopies and microlines!
Magalay's Story:
The day I was celebrating my 100th jump, I wanted to make my first high pull and bump some end cells with a skilled canopy pilot from the drop zone. As I was preparing to get on the load, another jumper who had made some canopy formation skydives (aka canopy relative work or CRW) approached me and disconnected my reserve static line. Our drop zone’s Safety and Training Advisor approached and asked, “Do you know the difference between a wrap and entanglement?” Very embarrassed, I answered that I didn’t. He hooked my RSL back up and said that I did not have enough education to engage in the jump I was planning.
As someone obsessed with having knowledge, it bothered me that I didn’t know anything about collisions. It seemed like a basic survival skill. Later on, I realized that I was not alone. While watching a canopy collision video with some jumpers at the DZ, the group asked a passing CF jumper to tell them who in the video should cut away first. That made me think: Shouldn’t any regular jumper already know this basic information?
1. BEFORE BOARDING THE PLANE
• Pack and maintain your gear properly.
• Check the upper winds and plan your exit point.
• Discuss opening altitudes within your group and with other groups, and decide upon exit order and separation.
• Decide on a landing direction and landing pattern.
2. DURING THE JUMP
• Track properly to create good separation for deployment.
• If you’re an angle flyer, beginner freeflyer or wingsuit flyer, be extra mindful of your line of flight, which may vary between DZs or depend on the current situation at one DZ. Ask a load organizer or the Safety and Training Advisor what the rules are for your discipline.
3. OPENING
• Remember that your rear risers are the fastest and easiest controls to use should you find yourself on a collision course.
• If you are going to collide head-on, both jumpers should turn right. However, collisions are rarely head-on. In this case, choose the quickest path away from each other (meaning, use your common sense).
• Be aware of how your body (and the other person’s) will swing during radical turns.
• Remember that body-to-body contact is worse than colliding with a canopy.
4. DURING THE LANDING PATTERN
Avoid:
• Unpredictable patterns
• Conflicting patterns and opposite or perpendicular landing directions
• Combining high-performance and standard landing approaches in the same landing area
• Target fixation
Be aware of:
• Obstacles in the landing area
• Multiple people trying to land in one spot
• Areas where the landing zone narrows or funnels jumpers to the same area
Remember to:
• Land in the agreed-upon direction
• Plan your landing pattern before you enter it
• Maintain your landing direction; don’t chase the windsock
• Move out of the primary landing pattern when using accuracy techniques to slow your descent or to avoid going long
• Choose to land in an uncongested portion of the landing area
"In order to be in a canopy collision, three things must happen: You must be in the same place, at the same height, at the same time. If you change one of these, there is no collision.” Brian Vacher, FLIGHT-1
WRAPS: A wrap is defined as when one jumper’s canopy (the lower jumper) envelops or snags on another jumper’s body. Wraps happen very quickly. They often resolve very quickly, too.
When in a wrap, communicate using as few words as possible, avoid asking questions, and use only positive commands. If you are below your decision altitude, you may need to land in a wrap. It is generally considered polite to flare for the lower jumper.
ACTIONS AS THE HIGHER JUMPER
1) Remember that you have a functioning parachute!
2) Protect your handles!
3) In almost all cases, you’ll want to get big before the collision to spread out the impact and lower the possibility of a wrap. It's normal to want to protect yourself and curl up. Fight the instinct. The only exception to getting big is if the other jumper is flying a high-performance canopy with microlines and the closing speed is high, since a large surface area will give the microlines a better chance to slice you. However, if the closing speed is low, the risk of a wrap is more dangerous than the risk of cuts from microlines.
• If you’re hitting the canopy with your torso, push your elbows out and spread your legs.
• If you’re hitting with your legs, try to hit with both legs.
• If you’re hitting with your feet, consider kicking off your shoes!
4) When you realize you can’t avoid a collision with a lower canopy, try to hit the center cells.
• Hitting center cells will most likely result in a “whirly” and resolve itself.
• Hitting an end cell will likely cause a wrap.
• Hitting fabric is much better than hitting lines (and microline will seriously hurt you).
5) Give only positive commands. (A good substitute for the negative command “Don’t cut away” is “Stay with me.”)
6) Avoid asking questions. (Asking a question like “Are you OK?” could be mistaken for “Cut away!”)
7) First priorities:
• Make sure no lines are wrapped around you.
(Any lines on you are bad, but microline will cut through flesh and bone.)
• Push fabric and lines down your body if possible.
(If a zero-porosity canopy envelops your head, you may asphyxiate.)
• Locate your risers and if there’s any fabric around them, pull it as far down and away from the risers as you can.
8) If you are incapable of clearing the fabric or lines or if the situation is getting worse, free yourself as much as you can and give the command “Cut away!”
9) If you cannot breathe or talk, go completely limp. This will signal the lower jumper to cut away.
10) After the other jumper cuts away:
• The other canopy may re-inflate (which can lead to a downplane).
• Do not hold on to the cutaway canopy! Gear can be replaced!
• If you still can’t get rid of the cutaway canopy and it is interfering with your canopy or risers, consider cutting away your own canopy. Make sure you are clear of any lines!
ACTIONS AS THE LOWER JUMPER
1) Try to increase the initial tension on the canopy by applying input to your front risers. If the wrap does not resolve immediately, stop giving input.
2) Listen for commands and wait for direction from the higher jumper.
3) Avoid asking questions.
4)Periodically call out altitudes.
5) Cut away immediately if:
•The higher jumper stops moving or communicating.
• The situation becomes violent.
• You’re about to go through your hard deck.
6) If you find the calm, coolness and presence of mind to disconnect your RSL, do so.
ENTANGLEMENTS: During an entanglement, your body or part of your gear has gone through the other jumper’s lines and out the other side. The difference between this scenario and a wrap is that both parachutes are compromised! During an entanglement, it may be difficult to discern who is the high or the low jumper. Both jumpers are typically spinning, or one jumper may be an anchor point as the other is spinning. The best case is if the jumpers are side by side, which makes it easier to tell who is higher. The descent rate will be higher than in a wrap.
IF BOTH JUMPERS ARE SPINNING VIOLENTLY:
• Cut away immediately.
• Communication will not be possible.
• Your handles may have shifted.
• You are in danger of passing out.
• Your reserve will most likely open in line twists.
IF THERE IS AN ANCHORING JUMPER AND AN ORBITING JUMPER:
The orbiting jumper gets the first opportunity to cut away.
• If the orbiting jumper has not cut away after three revolutions, they may have passed out or will soon. The anchoring jumper then must cut away.
IF YOU ARE IN A SIDE-BY-SIDE CONFIGURATION:
• Make sure both jumpers are clear of lines and snags.
• The higher jumper should cut away first, since he has a better point of view. (If the lower jumper cuts away first, the top jumper may be in a worse position.)
DOWNPLANES:
This is the worst-case scenario and the one you want to solve the quickest. In this case, two parachutes are attached to a person (or persons) and are attempting to fly in opposite directions. This typically occurs when someone cuts away and their lines or risers are still attached to the other jumper. This is why it is important to try to clear lines from yourself before the other jumper cuts away. A downplane is a severely life-threatening situation. Do anything and everything to avoid it!
ACTIONS:
• Increase drag on your canopy by applying brakes as deeply as you can without stalling the canopy.
• Keep working the problem! (Take off your shoes, bring your hook knife into action, etc.)
• If all else fails, fire your reserve. Get more fabric out!
FINAL THOUGHTS
CONSIDER...
• Your altitude. It is different to try to solve a wrap at 9,000 feet than 3,000 feet.
• Your hard deck. If the top jumper is saying, “Stay with me!” but it’s below your decision altitude, it’s time to go.
• Depending on altitude, you may have to land two people under one functioning parachute.
• Jump with a good hook knife.
• When flying near other people, consider your snag points, from helmets to gloves.
•Do not panic. If there’s time to panic, there’s time to do something constructive.
• Keep working the problem. Never give up.
• Use the acronym "ACT" to help you remember the most important things during a canopy collision:
ALTITUDE - COMMUNICATE - TEAMWORK