CRW Emergency Procedures                                   by Mike Lewis

The first step towards solving an emergency situation is to have a plan.

It must be a good plan gleaned from the wisdom of experts. You should have

only one plan for each possible situation.

       The second step is to practice it. You should practice your emergency

procedures so that you know them. An emergency is not the time to be confused

or indecisive. The best time to review emergency procedures is whenever that

natural fear of being out of control starts to creep in. This will replace

the negative fear with a positive plan, and the plan will be the first thing

that comes to mind in an emergency situation -- not the panic.

      The third step is to do it! An emergency is not the time to get

creative and try something that wasn't thought out during a less stressful

period. In other words, stick with your planned emergency procedures. CRW

emergencies can be divided into two categories,  i.e. wraps and

entanglements. A wrap is when a parachute is wrapped around a jumpers

body. An entanglement is when the parachutes are entangled with each other.

WRAPS

A wrap is similar to a low speed malfunction. The top jumpers parachute

will remain open. This gives you more time to deal with a problem than

you would have with a freefall emergency.  You do not want to land a

modern square parachute with two people under it. You may have incredible

forward speed because ofthe increased wing loading· The general rule for

wraps is that the bottom jumper cuts away first. The top parachute

usually remains open, so there is no reason to release it. Also, if the

jumper who has the parachute around him cuts away (the top jumper), he

will go into freefall with the bottom jumper's canopy wrapped around

him. That will only make matters worse. Usually you can climb out of a

parachute by sliding the material down your body.  If not, then the

bottom jumper cuts away. That will release the tension and make it easier

to climb out of the fabric.

ENTANGLEMENTS

An entanglement usually results from one jumper passing through the lines

of another jumper's canopy. This causes the two parachutes to be entangled,

with the pilots dangling beneath them.  This situation almost always requires

both jumpers to cut away. Usually one person will be suspended higher than

the other. The general rule for entanglements is the top person goes first.

If the bottom jumper releases, his lines and risers may recoil upward and

wrap the other person.  When the top person releases first, he may bounce

off the bottom person on the way by, but he won't have much momentum.

      The top jumper  usually is the one who passed through the lines,

and many times his parachute will pull itself out of the mess after being

released. This is a bonus for the bottom jumper.

Sometimes the entanglement will start spinning, with one jumper

hanging downward and the other one orbiting the entanglement. In this

situation the orbiter should cut away first. This will fling the

orbiter clear of the entanglement without changing the other jumper's

orientation. If the jumper hanging downward releases first, it will change the

orbiter' orientation to the mess and could make his situation worse.

COMMUNICATION                            

      When involved in a wrap or entanglement the first thing to do is to

communicate with each other.  You need to communicate the altitude, the

problem and the plan of action.

When someone has a parachute wrapped around him, he may not be

able to read his altimeter.  In all the excitement, he'll probably

forget his last altitude reading, and you don't want him to panic and

cutaway.  When you are totally engulfed in nylon, it is very reassuring

to hear the altitude called out every 500 feet.  It also helps to hear

that your parachute is okay and if "you crawl to the left" it will come

loose, or some similar instruction.  If you cannot get any response from

the person wrapped up in your canopy you should go ahead and cutaway.

The jumper probably has nylon around his face or neck and you need to

release the tension by releasing your risers. 

      If you are the one who is wrapped in parachute you should communicate

that you are working on the situation. Speak to the other jumper at regular

intervals.  "Don't cut away" is the wrong thing to say as the other jumper

might only hear the last part and jettison his canopy.

      Once the decision to cut away has been made, you don't want to panic.

First get your hands on both handles and check that you are clear of

any lines. You should peel the cut away handle off the velcro, but leave

the reserve handle in its pocket. If you have a hard pull on the cutaway

handle you can release the reserve handle and use both hands to cut away.

Keep your eyes on the reserve handle so you can grab it quickly. Be

ready to make a freefall delay if you have sufficient altitude. If more than

one person is going to cut away, the first one out needs to freefall

for five to 10 seconds. This will allow sufficient vertical separation for

the next person to open a reserve.

      The foremost thing we can do to keep a margin of safety is to respect

the altitude. Most problems start during docking or break-off.

USPA says the limit for docking is 2500 feet.  The real question is

"How low do I want to be in a wrap?" The next question is "How low do I

want to be in freefall" USPA says the decision to cut away should be made

by 1800 feet and the procedure started by 1600 feet. These limits were

determined by years of experience and should be respected.

I do not recommend that you cut away below 500 feet. At that altitude

you should save yourself by deploying your reserve without breaking away.

It is better to add more nylon to the mess than to accelerate towards

the ground at such a low altitude.

DOCKING

      What causes wraps and entanglements? Most are caused by bad docks. The three factors most often involved are speed. angle and distance from the

center.

      If you have too much speed your body continues to travel after you have docked. The point where your canopy has been gripped remains stationary,  but the rest of the canopy continues to move in the direction your body is traveling. if you warp the parachute too much it will lose pressurization and wrap the other jumper you are docked on. Because things tend to swing in

an arc, it is common for the parachute to wrap securely around the other

jumper.

      There are good and bad docking angles. A straight in aproach,  directly behind a jumper at zero degrees is the safest. Docking head on, or 180 degrees, is obviously the worst angle.  Docking with your parachute at 90 degrees relative to the other jumper's heading will still give you too much speed.  The most efficient angle is at 45 degrees relative to the other jumper. Docking with an end cell is more likely to cause a wrap than docking with a center cell.  These factors combine to make a dock safe or unsafe.

FORMATION FUNNELS

         Another cause of wraps and entanglements is when the formation

funnels. This can be the result of a mismatched or "misflown" canopy that

is collapsing. it can also be caused by a stalling canopy.

         In a planed formation the nose of the parachute below you is pushing

on your brake lines.  Your canopy could stall if you apply as little as

half brakes. If someone docks and wraps the corner of a formation it can

cause part of the formation to funnel. It can also funnel at breakoff

because the trim of the formation changes and the wing people aren't

paying attention.

         Another problem is people not looking where they are going.

You should always look before you turn and not just watch the formation.

Many people have gotten wrapped by not looking where they are going on

opening. If you are staring at your toggles right after opening, you may

have an unpleasant encounter with someone else doing the same thing.

Avoid tunnel vision.

AVOIDING PROBLEMS

   What can we do to prevent or minimize wraps and entanglements?

         The foremost preventative measure is a thorough dirtdive. That is

the time to share techniques that work for the type of formations and

transitions that are pianned. CRW is very three dimensional and therefore

complex. Participants can easily miscalculate an approach if they are

trying something new. Don't just dirt dive the formations, share any

information that you know.

         If someone is docking badly you can spread out your arms and prevent

the parachute from wrapping you.  Even if it does wrap, you can extract

yourself more easily because you won't be cocooned so tightly. Nylon will

stick to itself like a Chinese finger trap when it is wound tightly

around you. But if you can give it some slack it will come loose.  You

can grab the area of nylon With the most tension on it then lift it by as

little as an inch. As you let it down,  it will then loosen and start sliding

down your body.

         If you are in a formation and someone beiow you gets wrapped,

it would be good to hold on to him until he can sort things out. This will

give the jumper more time, and less worry, by keeping his parachute on heading.

         If someone is entangled in your lines you can apply light front

riser pressure. This keeps tension in your nose and tends to keep your

parachute from spinning. The jumper may then be able to slide up your

lines which will allow his parachute to stay inflated. This front risering

must be done immediately, because once the two parachutes become entangled

one or both of you will have to cut away.

         If an end cell wraps around your foot it can be difficult to release.

You can't lift the jumper's weight up with one leg and it can also injure you.

As the canopy comes around your foot, stick the other foot in there also.

This will enabie you to lift the lower jumper up and get your hands on the

canopy. It should also help prevent injury.

         If just one foot is wrapped, grab your risers and turn yourself away

from the other canopy -- you'll be facing backwards under your canopy.

Now you will have a 180 degree wrap around your ankle instead of a 360

degree wrap. This should make it a lot easier to shake off the canopy.

   If the canopy is collapsing and reinflating, don't fight it. Have the

bottom person cut away.  The snatching action can really damage your ankles.

         The bottom line in preventing or easing wraps and entanglements is

to wear proper equipment.  All participants should wear shoes, socks and

long pants Or a jumpsuit. Wrist mounted altimeters am not recommended and

your RSL should be disconnected. Automatic openers are fine. If I am that

low, going that fast, I want my reserve out.

         You need a CRW parachute to do safe and sane CRW. Opening at

2000 feet under your little Micro-lined skyrocket is not the time to

learn CRW.

         Most importanty, learn from an expert not another novice jumper.

And always respect the safety margin of altitude.