Malfunction (parachuting)

A malfunction is a partial or total failure of a parachuting device to operate as intended. Malfunctions may require a skydiver to cut away his or her main parachute and deploy the reserve parachute.

This happens with the popular throw-out deployment system where the pilot chute does not pull the pin and open the container or once opened does not exert enough force to extract the deployment bag from the container. It can be caused by pilot chutes with kill lines that have not been cocked during packing or where the kill line has shrunk through use and reduces the drag of the pilot chute. It can be caused by a mis-routed pilot chute bridle. It can also be caused by too large a deployment bag and canopy for the container, although deployment bags should be matched to the containers. The correct procedure with this malfunction is to deploy the reserve from a stable belly down position. If time permits, the skydiver might first attempt to bump their container to dislodge a trapped deployment bag. If this malfunction is temporary and clears, it is called a pilot chute hesitation.

This malfunction occurs when the deployment bag is extracted from the main container, but fails to release the canopy within. The correct procedure to clear the malfunction is to cut away the main and deploy the reserve.

A "horseshoe" describes a malfunction where a parachute deploys, but remains attached to a skydiver by its risers and at least one other point. This prevents the canopy from opening properly and the canopy and lines form a horseshoe shape extending from the risers up and then back down again to the other point where the parachute remains attached to or entangled with the skydiver. This malfunction may occur when the closing pin of a skydiving rig is released from the closing loop and allows the deployment bag to separate from the container. Because the pilot chute is still stowed, the malfunction takes on the shape of a horseshoe. This malfunction may also occur if the pilot chute or bridle connecting the pilot chute to the canopy becomes entangled with the skydiver. It is possible, though rare, to experience this type of malfunction when one or more parachute lines entangle with or snag on some portion of the parachute rig.

The skydiver may attempt to extract the pilot chute or clear the entanglement. Extracting the pilot chute, while simple during the course of a normal jump, becomes a new challenge, because its location will have shifted due to the deployment of the main canopy. Skydivers may wish to practice on the ground deploying their pilot chute with the main canopy out of the container in order to gain experience with this procedure. If successfully cleared, the main parachute will likely fail to deploy correctly due to severe line twists. However, the skydiver can treat this as a normal high-speed malfunction, release the main, and deploy the reserve. Failing to clear the entanglement prior to deploying the reserve may result in a main-reserve entanglement.

...
Wikipedia