Aircraft and Equipment Factors in the Occurrence of Suspension Line Twists with U.S. Army Parachutes

Abstract

Data were collected by self-report for the trainees of two classes of the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, who were asked if they had developed twists in their suspension line during each of the five jumps of the course. These data were then related to the conditions of deployment for each jump-type of parachute used, type of equipment carried, type of aircraft jumped from, and so forth. The proportion of jumpers with twists during a given jump with its associated conditions of deployment was compared by the chi-square test with the proportion of jumpers with twists from other jumps made under different conditions of deployment. No effect of type of parachute on the occurrence of twists was detected, but a strong and significant effect of combat equipment was associated with an increase in the proportion of twists. There was, in addition, a significant but slightly smaller effect attributable to the type of aircraft used for jumps, with more twists occurring during jumps from the C-141 than during jumps from the C-123.