I have several comments. First, R.I.P. AIRBORNE. Second, this is an opportunity to honor this mans life from sharing our collective experience and an opportunity to solve a problem. Now, this. I see this is a horrible equipment entanglement. Very hard to assess from the video, but it looks bad. This is a tailgate jump. As such, the towed parachutist is not being beaten to death by the aircraft, nor fellow jumpers. This is a best case. He shows he is aware and holds a tight body position. He should have let his helmet go, however. It became a liability and not an asset once he had to manage it more than his situation allowed. I dont think it looks like they are pulling him back in. The concern is he will hit the tailgate, so a cutaway is the option if the Jumpmaster assesses the jumper has a chance to activate his reserve. Not clear here. There is a lot of spaghetti in the way. His reserve is tight upon his harness, the mess is the deployment bag and such from the entanglement. The hard part is now resting upon the Jumpmaster and the pilot. Do we tow, do we cut? He is fully aware and they could fly around until the fuel ran out and he would probably not die from it. They could cut him away and let him do what he is trained to do. If this was a training jump as judged from the uniforms and I was the Jumpmaster on that bird, I tell the pilot to gain altitude, immediately or sooner. Why would I cut him at 500 AGL if I could give him 5000? Seeing the mess, I would probably try to bring him in, though, around 5000 AGL. The crew chief should run a ratchet strap high across the door under the static line and run the winch. Get the 4 bravest dudes with as long of a safety strap as would allow to man the tailgate. Pull him in. I assume they have a winch, also. Watch that kid for tight body position. Loose the kevlar. Its really not that bad of a ride. It is the landing that matters. Give him the faith you will save him. Thats what Jumpmasters are for even when things go perfectly! My next comment is that sometimes bad things happen even when you make the best decision. The men on that plane made the decisions. There will always be a primary Jumpmaster and Airborne commander. Do the thing you believe is right at that second of your life. You are the Jumpmaster and you make the call. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Our trade is a dangerous one. It is one filled with people who pay attention to this kind of thing. Paratroops let out of the bottle have shown small propensity to evil and in fact have repelled it from our citizenry. They are the most valued among us, from street to street in America. They accomplish the most, with the least, with less thanks and an even smaller expectation of repayment than even the meekest man would seek. We are AIRBORNE! We do it because we are free men! A small side note. SPC Dale Robertson performed the most amazing mission, alone, that I can ever credit to one man. Dale, you know it, as I do. Well done! You will always be a soldier, and I will let you into my foxhole on any day. Much LOVE, Pax
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 09:18:51 +0000
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