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Florida container manufacturer Mirage Systems has decided to relocate the AAD cutter inside its reserve container due to an incident in Russia with two of its sponsored athletes.

According to the bulletin, two jumpers had Cypres activations due to low main deployments where the reserve container did not open immediately. Both jumpers landed without incident.

Further testing at the factory showed several rigging errors to be the reason for the reserve flaps failing to open. The company was able to recreate the situation with similar rigging practices.

In particular, the loop length had to be extremely too long and not treated with silicone. The Russian rigs also had too much bridle on top of the pilot chute kicker flap instead only the last 3-4 feet, per the owner’s manual.

With those rigging errors, it is possible for a friction lock to occur with the loop and remaining reserve grommets following an AAD fire only (no reserve pin pull). The same rigs with the proper length loop, treated with silicone, operated properly.

When moving the cutter to the flap that is on top of the pilot chute, the problem could not be recreated even with poor rigging practices. In an effort to eliminate the friction lock due to poor rigging, the company decided to make a permanent move of the cutter location.

The full product service bulletin is available on the Mirage web site at www.miragesys.com. In addition to the technical information for the rigging industry, there is literature on the reasons behind the cutter move as well as a letter from Airtec, manufacturer of the Cypres.

FAA master riggers are authorized to complete the service bulletin. The work must be completed at the next scheduled reserve inspection/repack.

Chuting Star Rigging Loft is the Mirage Authorized Service Center for the United States. The Atlanta rigging loft will complete Mirage PSB 12-04 at no charge. Out-of-state customers will not have to pay for return shipping. Download, print and fill out the Mirage Repair/Service Form from the company's web site. Include the form with your rig when shipping it to Chutingstar for this service bulletin.

For more information, contact Mirage at 386-740-9222 or Chuting Star at 1-800-877-7199.