http://ozreport.com/13.055#9

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15385

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15404

Gray, Ross <ross.gray> forwards:

Below, is a notice that I have just now received from Rex Kenny, Manager Sport and Recreation, Civil Aviation Authority  (CAA) of New Zealand.  The notice and the report relate to the failure of the reserve chute involved in the Queenstown NZ Tandem tragedy.

Rex Kenny <KennyR> writes:

The draft report produced by Lindsay Main, Manager, Aspiring Enterprises is linked to below. CAA believe there is a significant issue with these parachutes and there are a number of issues which need to be addressed urgently. Some are listed in the report but I note the following in particular.

• Retirement life – age in service


• Storage – damp or wet conditions


• Design – the ring attachment mentioned in the report


• Design load – not designed for tandem gross weight, therefore operational weight must be restricted

As hang gliders are not required to be on the aircraft register they are not subject to the emergency parachute requirements of being TSO’d (a design standard), however considering the initial report on this parachute perhaps consideration of adopting a TSO or similar standard needs to be looked at.

I am concerned that pilots may be flying with a false sense of security regarding the parachutes in use.

http://ozreport.com/docs/InitialBridleReport.pdf