Lawreston
En-Route
At the recent Great State of Maine Airshow the U.S. Army Parachute Team was stationed right next to the EAA table our Chapter 87 was staffing. Early in the day's activities, when the crowds were light, numerous practice runs by various performers were ongoing. The show announcer, however, was already working the gathering.
The parachute team was in the air for said practice run and the announcer was detailing various aspects of the occasion. I should say, their jump plane was in the air. The announcer explained that when the team exited the plane this or that would be occurring. In the middle of his dissertation about what to watch as the team exited the plane a single jumper did the deed and the announcer told what would be happening, sequentially. As he continued his spiel the anticipated "team" never appeared. I took the attached photo of the "team".
Well, folks; fact is, the instructor had fallen out of the plane. While the team was assembling as to order-of-jump, the plane's door was open. For some reason, before he was ready to start the maneuver, he was - unintentionally - gone. It threw off the timing of the team effort, so the rest of them didn't exit the plane. And the announcer had no plausible explanation for the team not completing the maneuver he had just told the public to anticipate. Instructor is the fellow on the far right in my 2nd photo, obviously showing some concern about something(although we didn't know the circumstances at that time), as were the other members.
HR
The parachute team was in the air for said practice run and the announcer was detailing various aspects of the occasion. I should say, their jump plane was in the air. The announcer explained that when the team exited the plane this or that would be occurring. In the middle of his dissertation about what to watch as the team exited the plane a single jumper did the deed and the announcer told what would be happening, sequentially. As he continued his spiel the anticipated "team" never appeared. I took the attached photo of the "team".
Well, folks; fact is, the instructor had fallen out of the plane. While the team was assembling as to order-of-jump, the plane's door was open. For some reason, before he was ready to start the maneuver, he was - unintentionally - gone. It threw off the timing of the team effort, so the rest of them didn't exit the plane. And the announcer had no plausible explanation for the team not completing the maneuver he had just told the public to anticipate. Instructor is the fellow on the far right in my 2nd photo, obviously showing some concern about something(although we didn't know the circumstances at that time), as were the other members.
HR
