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Aerodyne with another technical bulletin for its ICON harness/container.

That’s a wrap on our May 2026 ChutingStar Rigging School with 4 fresh FAA Senior Parachute Riggers released into the wild back to Canada, Montana, Florida and Alabama.

This group made the most original school patch in the shape and color of a CYPRES control head! Josh, Art, Brent & Spenser were absolutely solid through the 2 weeks and testing, thanks to Big Steve dropping all that knowledge during training.

226 parachute riggers have earned their certificates at ChutingStar since 2008…hell yeah!

Aerodyne Icon cutter relocation now mandatory. See note below.

Aerodyne would like to provide a further update regarding the ongoing investigation into the incident in the United Kingdom.

The investigation, led by British Skydiving, remains ongoing, and at this stage, no conclusions have been reached regarding the cause of the incident or the equipment's performance.

We continue to support the process and are working in cooperation with all relevant authorities. Investigations of this nature are complex and may take time, and early-stage information may be incomplete or subject to change.

🔹 AAD Cutter Placement – Configuration Update
As previously communicated in Technical Bulletin TB-250122 (2022), Aerodyne identified AAD cutter placement as a configuration consideration based on internal testing and issued a recommendation for certain configurations.

In line with ongoing product evaluation and to promote global consistency in configuration, Aerodyne will now be formalizing this existing recommendation as a mandatory configuration requirement. A separate communication will be issued outlining the implementation details.

Both cutter positions have been tested and approved, and the system has been in service for many years with successful reserve activations in operational conditions.

This step reflects a standardization of configuration, and not the result of any findings from the current investigation.

🔹 Our Commitment
Aerodyne remains fully dedicated to supporting the investigation process, upholding the highest standards of safety, quality, and performance, and providing clear, accurate updates as new information emerges.

We recognize the level of discussion within the skydiving community and appreciate the shared focus on safety. We encourage reliance on verified information from official sources as the investigation progresses.

Further updates will be provided as appropriate.

Parachute Industry Association statement on the British Skydiving grounding of the Aerodyne Icon.

British Skydiving Incident Regarding the Icon Harness/Container System

We would like to express our deep condolences to the skydiver’s family and friends following the recent incident in the UK.

British Skydiving has issued a bulletin, grounding Icon harness/container systems, as a precautionary measure. The PIA Rigging & Technical Committees are aware of the incident and are maintaining contact with the parties involved.

PIA is an industry group with no regulatory authority. We will be disseminating information as it becomes available. Our committees will evaluate the data and develop a plan of action to assist Icon H/C owners, and riggers who service this equipment.

PIA is committed to provide support to all who are affected by the grounding notice issued by British Skydiving.

There has been no conclusion, to date, regarding the root cause of thisincident. We are awaiting more information from Aerodyne and British Skydiving regarding this matter.

PIA is kindly requesting the following from Icon Owners and Riggers: For those who will not be jumping their Icon systems during this fact-finding period, please do not open your reserve containers so the pack job can be preserved for evaluation by designated personnel, thank you.

Respectfully,
Kirk Smith
PIA Rigging Chair

T.K. Donle
PIA Technical Chair

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