Riggers Committee - British Parachute Association

British Parachute Association
5 Wharf Way Tel: 0116 278 5271
Glen Parva Fax: 0116 247 7662
Leicester
e-mail: skydive@bpa.org.uk
LE2 9TF
www.bpa.org.uk
Riggers Committee
Minutes of the meeting held on
Thursday 22 November 2012 at 1600
at the BPA Office, 5 Wharf Way, Glen Parva, Leicester LE2 9TF
Present: Paul Applegate - Riggers Chair
Dave Major
Paul Stockwell
Noel Purcell
Pete Sizer
Apologies:
John Curtis, Rick Boardman, George Panagopoulos
In Attendance: John Hitchen - Chair STC
Tony Butler - Technical Officer
Trudy Kemp - Assistant to NCSO/TO
Observers:
Mike Bolton, Mike Rust, Alex Busby-Hicks.
ITEM
1. MINUTES AND MATTERS ARISING FROM THE RIGGERS MEETING OF THE 27
SEPTEMBER 2012
Page 2, Item 4 – Recommendations from Riggers Working Group looking into Equipment
Inspection Policies. This item was ongoing.
There being no further matters arising, it was proposed by Paul Stockwell and seconded by
Dave Major that the Minutes of the Riggers Sub-Committee Meeting of 27 September 2012 be
accepted as a true record.
Carried Unanimously
2. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE STC MEETINGS OF THE 27 SEPTEMBER 2012
There were no matters arising from the previous meeting.
3. TANDEM STUDENT HARNESS MODIFICATION PROPOSAL
A Tandem Student Harness Modification from Mike Bolton had been circulated with the Agenda.
This followed an incident at London Para Schools (Chilton Air Park DZ) on the14 October,
whereby a Tandem Student's right hand side butterfly snap hook became detached, at some
point, from the main harness.
Mile Bolton had reported that the video of jump indicated that the clip was attached in the
aircraft and most likely became unclipped on or just after exit.
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As a result of this incident Mike Bolton had proposed that all Tandem Student harnesses be
equipped with securing pins as a mandatory requirement to prevent possibly a repeat incident
occurring in future. Mike had stated that if this proposal was accepted, the necessary
modifications to incorporate the pins could be made over a suitable timescale.
The Chair reported that at the Riggers Committee meeting of 11 August 2005, the Committee had
accepted a mod for locking pins produced by Bill Sharp. This mod had been accepted for general
use on any student harnesses that have the same butterfly snap hooks as the Sigma (part nos:
MS22042, MS22042-1, MS70121). A copy of the mod was tabled for information.
A letter from Rick Boardman supporting Mike Bolton’s proposal had also been tabled to those
present.
Rick Boardman had stated that this subject had been debated at length by Riggers and STC in
2009 following a similar incident, and there being a suitable mod in place, Rick had proposed that
the use of locking pins be made a mandatory requirement. Although the Riggers Committee had
voted in favour of this proposal, CCIs after much deliberation had not agreed and had voted
against the proposal (by a large majority) as they believed the incident to be an isolated case.
They felt that if Tandem Instructors carried all the necessary checks prior to exit they saw no
reason why anyone should find themselves in freefall with a hook undone. At the subsequent
Council meeting, Council had asked STC to revisit this decision, which they had done and had
again voted against making the use of locking pins mandatory.
There then followed a lengthy discussion on this subject. A number of Riggers present stated
that they were concerned that we could be reacting to an incident to which it had not yet been
established as to how it had actually occurred.
The discussion then focused on the Association’s accepted modification for locking pins and
some concern was expressed that if the holes were not drilled correctly into the butterfly snap
hooks then further damage to the hook area could occur. It was also noted that not all pins
were suitable with all hooks and some Riggers present believed it was an engineering feat to
match up the hooks and locking pins in a suitable way that did not alter the strength and
integrity in this area.
It was felt that perhaps the Committee could consider developing an alternative method for
locking pins, which did not alter the integrity of the hook area. However, they acknowledged
that there was an accepted mod, which if carried out correctly was fine to use.
Following further discussion, the Committee felt that the decision as to whether or not the use
of locking pins be made mandatory was a matter for STC. However, they were not opposed
to the principle of having some form of safety feature/locking pin, but they were concerned that
there may be further implications involved.
4. PERMISSION TO RUN 2 RIGGING COURSES AT NETHERAVON
A request to host two Rigging Courses at Netheravon from 18 – 22 December 2012 and 5 – 9
January 2013 has been received by George Panagopoulos, a copy of which has been circulated
with the Agenda.
George has stated that there would be two Rigger Examiners present throughout each Course.
George had also reported that at this time both Courses were fully subscribed.
It was proposed by George Panagopoulos (proxy) and seconded by Pete Sizer that the above
request be accepted.
Carried Unanimously
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5. AAD CUTTER LOCATION - DISCUSSION
Paul Stockwell had asked that the subject of AAD cutter location be put on the agenda, which had
been as a result of various e-mail communications that he had received. He reported that some
manufacturers have advised to change cutter location, which he believed could present some
significant issues.
Paul gave the meeting some background information and also reported on a number of
instances where he had discovered significant damage to closure loops around the cutter area
on Tandem equipment. He had been in contact with the manufacturer regarding this matter
and was awaiting a response from them.
Following a lengthy discussion, the Committee agreed to continue to monitor the situation, but
in the meantime they encouraged packers to check for any damage around the cutter area on
Tandem equipment, and were asked to report any relevant issues or recurring problems to the
Committee.
6. ADVANCED PACKERS COURSE REPORTS
i) An Advanced Packers Training Course had been held at Netheravon from the 8 – 11
October 2012. George Panagopoulos had sent in a Course report, a copy of which
had been circulated to those present.
The Course had been attended by Ryan Briddon, Emile Cilliers and Jason Snailham,
all of whom were advised to attend the examination phase of the Course at a later
date following a number of supervised reserve pack jobs.
ii)
An Advanced Packers Examination Course had been held at QinetiQ, Boscombe
Down from the 10 – 11 October 2012. Ray Armstrong had sent in a Course report, a
copy of which had been circulated to those present.
Paul Strickland and Stuart Ambler successfully completed the Course and had been
awarded Advanced Packer (Grade S) status.
iii) An Advanced Packers Training Course had been held at Netheravon from the 29
October – 1 November 2012. George Panagopoulos had sent in a Course report, a
copy of which had been circulated to those present.
The Course had been attended by Barry Loftus who was advised to attend the
examination phase of the Course at a later date following a number of supervised
reserve pack jobs.
iv) An Advanced Packers Training Course had been held at Headcorn from the 5 – 8
November 2012. Pete Sizer had sent in a Course Report, a copy of which had been
circulated to those present.
The Course had been attended by Del Hopkins, Chris Smith and Henry Van Halewyn.
All of whom were advised to attend the Examination phase of the Course at a later
date following practice under supervision.
v) An Advanced Packers Training Course had been held at Netheravon from the 12 - 15
November 2012. George Panagopoulos had sent in a Course report, a copy of which
had been circulated to those present.
The Course had been attended by Gary Chapman and Pete McLaughlin. Both
candidates were advised to attend the examination phase of the Course at a later
date following a number of supervised reserve pack jobs.
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7. BPA SAFETY NOTICES/INFORMATION BULLETINS
There had been no BPA Safety Notice or Information Bulletins issued since the last meeting:
8. MANUFACTURERS’ SAFETY NOTICES/INFORMATION BULLETINS
A mandatory Service Bulletin had been circulated from Sun Path and concerned soft pad reserve
ripcord handles.
9. A.O.B.
i) Chris McCann reported that on completing a six monthly inspection on a Tear Drop
one pin container system he opened the reserve as normal. The spring released the
pilot chute as normal and then extracted the remainder of the bridle line from the
container and lifted the free bag from the container to observe the line deployment
again this was normal. However, on trying to get the reserve canopy out of the free
bag this was a different story, he had two sand bags on the container to simulate
resistance, but as he continued to pull on the bridle line the canopy didn’t come out of
the bag and he ended up dragging the container up the packing shed !
Chris then got hold of the lines with one hand the bridle in the other and again
attempted to get the canopy out of the bag and again the canopy didn’t release! He
then stood on the lines and held the bridle with two hands bent over stood up and this
is the only way of release.
On inspection of the canopy all was fine, but on inspection of the bag {inside} it was
very sticky as though there is a film of sorts covering the material. Obviously this was
not normal, so he contacted TSE to report this incident and they sent him a
replacement free bag.
Chris wished to make Riggers and Packers aware of the situation he had found.
i) The Chair expressed his thanks to Riggers for their support throughout the year
and wished them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Date of next Meeting: Thursday 7 February 2013
BPA Offices, Glen Parva, Leicester
at 4.00 p.m
30 November 2012
Distribution:
Chairperson Riggers Committee, All CCIs, All Riggers, Advanced Packers, Council, CAA
Editor - Skydive
PAPERWORK REQUIRING CIRCULATION WITH THE NEXT AGENDA MUST REACH THE BPA
OFFICE BY FRIDAY 25 JANUARY 2013
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