Parachute riggers ensure safe landing

  • Published
  • By Airman Mike Young
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  When a plane goes down, the first lifeline a pilot can rely on is his parachute.

Edwards pilots have the 412th Maintenance Squadron parachute riggers to trust when donning their gear. 

They have one common objective -- to keep people alive. 

"In this line of work you only get one chance," said Roberto Reyes, a 412th MXS parachute rigger. 

They pack everything from personnel chutes to cargo chutes. 

The parachute packing process starts the moment a parachute touches the ground, Mr. Reyes said. 

The parachute collected sometimes brings debris back with it, he said. Once it gets back to the work shop, the parachute is either spread out onto a packing table or hoisted into the air with hydraulic lifts, depending on the type of parachute. 

"The most unusual object I have ever seen fall out of a chute when opened was an improvised explosive device," said Richard Micalizzi, a 412th MXS parachute rigger. "It was a pretty big deal. We had to call out the explosive ordinance disposal team to recover the explosive." 

After spreading out or stringing up the chutes, the riggers perform an initial inspection of the parachute to look for objects inside the chute as well as any rips, tears or any other damage. 

If there is anything wrong with the parachute after the initial inspection, the riggers are trained on how to repair them. 

"Two of our main goals are to make sure the job is done right and not miss anything when inspecting the chutes," Mr. Micalizzi said. 

The riggers have also been trained in the handling of munitions because of the rocket placed within the ejection seat of the airplane. If the rocket has expired and needs to be replaced, it is the parachute riggers responsibility to replace it.  

"Throughout the entire process, there are many sets of eyes making sure everything is correct," Mr. Micalizzi said. 

Once the parachute has been inspected and repaired, the riggers start the very detailed task of repacking the chute, he said 

"They have to be very meticulous because the chutes have to be packed in a certain order and fit very tightly into a small pack," Mr. Reyes said. 

After everything has been packed, the riggers perform one final inspection. 

"The 412th MXS Squadron has less than one-percent return rate on the parachutes," Mr. Micalizzi said. 

On average, the parachute riggers pack roughly one to two chutes per day. They also repair floatation devices such as life rafts, escape slides and life preservers. 

"Taking care of our pilots by making sure their parachutes will take them to the ground safely is essential to the Air Force mission," Mr. Reyes said. "There is no room for error in our line of work, but taking pride in what we do, and extreme attention to detail allows us to successfully complete our mission."