Marines: 13 Parachute Lines Cut

The Associated Press ^ | OCTOBER 01, 2002

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — Suspension lines on 13 parachutes were cut before a training exercise last month, forcing three jumpers to use their reserve chutes, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.

The tampering was discovered Sept. 21 when five Marines jumped from a C-17 aircraft during heavy equipment parachute training at Camp Lejeune.

Three parachutes malfunctioned and the jumpers used reserve chutes to land safely, a statement from the Marines said.

An inspection showed the lines of the three parachutes had been cut in a way to avoid detection, the statement said.

At least nine other chutes still packed and waiting on the shelves in warehouses were found with similar problems.

It was unclear where the 13th sabotaged parachute was found. A call to the Camp Lejeune public affairs office was not returned.

Marine investigators and agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are looking for a possible saboteur. There have been no arrests.

[John H K]

I thought about that sailor who detonated a shell on-board ship a few years back, killing himself and other sailors. Turned out he was a Clinton, panty-waste Pentagon, "Don't ask, don't tell" type.

Turns out he was railroaded (well, easy to blame the dead) on basically no evidence whatsoever; it was an accident (and gunnery accidents are common on battleships, just not many of them since WWII).

[ClancyJ]

No, I think they need to test the parachutes before the marines use them - from an airplane.

[Jeff Chandler]

I read the word "rigger" too fast. Really changes the meaning.

[steve-b]

What's the likelihood it wasn't a rigger?

According to the story, the saboteur knew how to damage the chutes in such a way as to avoid detection. That implies an inside job.

[two23]

Tight access to parachute packing...they will find out who did this.

[Willie Green]

bttt

[Willie Green]

fyi

[Poohbah]

Parachutes have all kinds of records attached to them, and the maintenance shop keeps records of all of the work that everyone was doing.

My bet is that this was done immediately after the paraloft knew there'd be a jump exercise. Doing this to 13 chutes would take a little while.

Checking the maintenance records for those chutes and for the paraloft as a whole should ID the culprit.

[Husker24]

I thought that turned out to be a gun malfunction, not a suicide.

[Lancey Howard]

I thought that turned out to be a gun malfunction, not a suicide.

Guess we may never know for sure.
Clinton's panty-waste Pentagon investigated the incident, and the conclusions may have been politically correct, and in any event cannot be trusted.

[Lancey Howard]

Do you remember how Clinton's politically correct Navy tried to cover up pilot error when that female fighter pilot crashed her jet? Tried to claim it was a malfuntion with the plane? - - Anything but that the female aviator screwed up? Fortunately, that whole coverup attempt was exposed.

Remember - - them Clinton scumbags always had an agenda, even to the point of abusing and feminizing and trying to destroy the greatest fighting force in the world.

Regards,
LH