Paratrooper deaths involved different chutes - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Paratrooper deaths involved different chutes

A National Guard paratrooper killed in a Sunday jump was not using the recently suspended T-11 chute, but instead the SF-10 parachute, said Maj. Tim Crowe of the Montana National Guard, which is conducting an investigation into the death.

Sgt. Francis Campion, 31, was a member of West Virginia National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group.

He jumped with three other soldiers from a C-17 at about 3:45 p.m. Sunday. The drop zone was Marshall Field at Fort Harrison, Mont., but initial reports suggest a gust of wind pushed him about 400 feet off target and onto a rooftop. Another gust of wind apparently caught the chute and caused him to fall 24 feet onto pavement.

Campion, a 12-year veteran with service in Afghanistan, suffered massive head and neck injuries, said Lewis and Clark County Coroner Mickey Nelson.

The SF-10 will serve as the anchor of the new MC-6 tactical assault parachute slated to replace the MC-1 series. The MC-6 is designed to turn almost twice as fast as its predecessor, which allows special operators to maneuver onto smaller drop zones.

It also gives them greater maneuverability in high winds, and it can negate a light wind and allow the jumper to maneuver in a 360-degree manner. It has the same harness and reserve as the T-11, so jumpmaster procedures are the same. But the forward drive is increased by as much as 4 knots, and the turn ratio is increased by 40 percent to allow a 360-degree turn in five seconds, officials said.

Campion was the second paratrooper to die in the past two weeks.

Staff Sgt. Jamal Clay’s June 25 death at Fort Bragg, N.C., was due to a malfunction with the new T-11 Advanced Tactical Parachute System. The Army on July 8 suspended all use of the T-11.

The suspension, outlined in “All Army Activities” 251/2011, is due to “potential packing, inspection, quality control and functionality problems,” according to the message.

During the inquiry into Clay’s death, investigators identified problems in the packing process. An inspection of 10 T-11 parachutes revealed tangled pack assist loops, improper corner arm folds, improperly stowed bridle, twists in the top of the canopy and failed 14-pound pull tests of reserve chutes.

“The observations are significant and pervasive enough to indicate potential systemic shortfalls,” the message said.

The suspension halts all jumps and packing operations using the T-11. It is in effect until the final investigation board report is filed and necessary changes are implemented.

Other safety restrictions had been placed on the T-11 two weeks prior to Clay’s death, which marked the first fatality involving the new chute. The initial restrictions came after officials at the Pathfinder School at Fort Benning, Ga., questioned whether published wind drift offset factors were accurate.

Clay’s death was unrelated to the previous restriction, officials said.

The June 11 safety restrictions are outlined in “All Army Activities” message 227/2011. Those restrictions said ground marker and verbally initiated release system operations using the T-11 are not recommended until more tests are done by the Airborne Test Board.

The message also quotes an Army Developmental Test Command memo that cautions, “If jumpers exit a high performance aircraft (C-130/C-17) above 1,250ft [above ground level], there is a realistic chance that several paratroopers will land off the drop zone or be dragged across the ground after landing.”