Common Tandem Harness Adjustment Errors
It may seem like common sense to say that a properly fitted tandem student harness is required for every tandem skydive. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, instructors get lazy, forgetful or both, and many tandem students end up with an unpleasant canopy ride or even an injury upon landing. Small errors in harness adjustment can cause big problems for the student.
As part of the certification course, tandem instructors learn the correct procedures for adjusting student harnesses for fit and comfort, but some stray from those and throw harnesses on with little regard for proper adjustment. A poorly adjusted student harness can lead to the student sustaining ankle, leg or back injuries upon landing. It can also make a student throw up or even pass out while under canopy. And, in the most extreme cases, the student can come out of the harness altogether.
Each manufacturer provides detailed instructions for properly fitting the harness onto a tandem student. It is pretty basic information, and there are just a few details that require attention to really make a difference in how the harness fits. Yet some instructors seem to miss the same critical steps, jump after jump.
One of the most common adjustment errors involves the placement of the two upper attachment points. The attachment hooks should be located at the tops of the student’s shoulders. This will help to ensure the student remains as high as possible when hanging from the instructor’s harness under canopy. If the hooks are too far back toward the shoulder blades (a common mistake), it lets the student drop lower than necessary. This can make the student lean forward in the harness, cutting off circulation at the hip area, which can lead to nausea, pain and even loss of consciousness under canopy.
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A correct harness adjustment with a riser-type harness allows the student to stay suspended from the instructor as high as possible. The harnes is adjusted so the upper hooks are located at the tops of the shoulders.
An incorrect harness adjustment with a riser-type harness allows the student to hang very low in relation to the tandem instructor. The upper hooks were placed back toward the shoulder blades instead of at the tops of the shoulders.
A correct harness adjustment with the upper hooks located at the tops of the shoulders allows the student to be more comfortable under canopy. He is suspended as high as possible to help the tandem instructor touch down first and protect against foot, ankle or leg injuries to the student.
An incorrect harness adjustment with the hooks located too far back toward the student's shoulder blades allows the student to hang very low relative to the tandem instructor under canopy. In addition to increasing the chance of an injury to the student while landing, it also makes he canopy descent ore uncomfortable.A harness that is too loose can cause the same problems, since that also causes the student to hang very low under canopy. This can lead to the student touching the ground before his instructor, even if he picks his legs up for landing. Some students in loose harnesses have injured their backs and tailbones when they struck the ground with their butts before their tandem instructors’ feet touched the ground.
Make sure you are following correct procedures with your harness adjustments. It takes just as much time and energy to adjust the harness improperly as it does to adjust it correctly, so you may as well do it right. Your student will benefit from a more comfortable, safer skydive.
—Jim Crouch | D-16979
USPA Director of Safety & Training
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