tandem vector owner's manual

SIGMA TANDEM SYSTEM OWNER’S MANUAL
PROBLEM: Left arm is held.
REACTION: If he has your left arm, hit him on the side of his head as hard as you can; he’ll probably let go. If you
cannot free your left arm, throw the drogue and release it at the proper altitude.
PROBLEM: Both arms are held.
REACTION: If a student gets both arms, a quick, rearward extraction movement of both hands can generally free you
at once. If unsuccessful, you still have your voice, your head, your teeth and your knees to work with.
ANALYSIS: A student that panics is apt to do almost anything. This type of incident has been reported enough times
for us to know that it can and will happen again. The best course of action is a preventative one. Keep your arms away
from the student in the first place.
NEVER PUT A WRIST MOUNTED ALTIMETER IN FRONT OF A STUDENTS FACE. This is an engraved invitation to grab
your arm! (See fatality report #6.)
Always tell the student during the pre-jump briefing not to grab your arms at any time during the jump. Make it clear
what the consequences might be. Tell the student that you will both die an ugly death by “sudden impact trauma” if
he does interfere with your ability to pull the operating handles.
DROGUE DEPLOYMENT AND RELEASE PROBLEMS
A. Pulling the wrong handle
B. Unable to extract drogue from pouch
C. Un-inflated drogue
D. Entanglement with drogue
E. Entanglement with the drogue bridle
F. Non-collapsed drogue
G. Drogue does not release when first handle pulled.
A. Pulling the wrong handle:
PROBLEM: You have pulled the drogue release handle before deploying the drogue.
REACTION: Deploy the drogue immediately.
ANALYSIS: If you don’t deploy the drogue promptly, you will of course continue to accelerate towards 170 mph. If
you pull the drogue release and the drogue safety pin is in place nothing will happen.
B. Unable to extract drogue from pouch:
PROBLEM: You are unable to locate the drogue deployment handle or are unable to extract the drogue completely
from its pouch.
REACTION: Pull the reserve ripcord.
11301 - 00.00.0000 Section 4: Malfunctions & Emergencies • Chapter 1 - Reserve Procedures
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