Static Line Deployment Cord May Be Stretched Out of Tolerance, Says MarS 

Czech parachute manufacturer MarS a. s. has announced an urgent use advisory for owners of its Rescue Parachute ATL-15 SL, advising that owners suspend use of affected serial numbers. A variety of parachutes are affected, manufactured from 2016 to 2021. 

The ATL emergency parachute is popular amongst glider and sport pilots around the world, coming in a low profile, slim pack, with options for back-mounted and seated styles. The parachute may also be sold as the ATL-88/90, -88/92-S, and -88/98-S. 

The warning concerns those chutes that rely on Microline cord for its static extension line. As units were repacked, it was discovered that some of the strings were out of production tolerances, having stretched over its service life. Added slack could be deadly on a deployment line, preventing the deployment of the parachute. Comparable models with metallic static line extensions remain unaffected owing to the rigidity of its material used in place of the Microline material. 

MarS issued an explanation to dealers and users that states "One pin did not come out of the closing loop when servicing and opening the parachute container. Subsequent inspection revealed that the dimensions of the static line extension were out of production tolerances. Parachutes manufactured after this time, which are equipped with a metal extension of the static line remain in operation and the information does not apply to them." 

A modification to the parachute model was made last year, in which MarS updated the design with a similar fix to what will likely come in the future. In a July 2021 bulletin, MarS said "the microline cord with sewn-on needles was replaced with a steel cable with pressed-in needles (pins). We have thus achieved higher accuracy during production, and we have also eliminated possible inaccuracy when packing the parachute (turning the needle)." 

So far, only the warning to suspend operation of the parachute has been issued, but the company has said that users and dealers will receive additional information via similar service bulletin in the future. 

FMI: www.marsjev.com