At approximately 1445 hours EST on 28 May, 1972, a parachutist
was fatally injured by impact with the ground following a free-fall
descent at Dajarra Aerodrome, Queensland.
The main parachute pack burst open on impact and the canopy was
found still encased in its sleeve. The main parachute ripcord
handle was clear of the retaining pocket and the ripcord cable was
extracted from its housing to the "pulled" position. A sharp bend
in the ripcord cable suggested that prior to impact the cable may
have been partially extracted from the housing but to an extent
which would have been insufficient for the release pins to have
cleared the retaining cones on the parachute pack. The reserve
parachute operated normally but the time available for its
deployment after actuation of the ripcord was such that the shroud
lines had not been fully extracted from the retaining bands in the
parachute pack.