KSLA Salutes: Importance of parachutes for B-52 flight crew

BOSSIER CITY, La. (KSLA) - On our last trip to Barksdale Air Force Base, KSLA showed you what it takes to stop a B-52 safely. What about the safety of the crew flying on the plane?

[RELATED: The B-52 and Aircrew Flight Equipment]

Each B-52 has a crew of approximately six or more whenever it takes to the skies. Each member of the team is fitted with safety gear. One of the most important is the parachute. Attached to the parachute are many other key components for survival, but the parachute itself gets the air crew member safely to the ground.

SrA Nathan Ha helps maintain and pack the personnel chutes. He shared the steps of repair, packing and interesting information about the meaning of the colored panels of the canopy.

“The cool thing about these parachutes, is they’re for a personnel. If they egress over water, land or desert, they have different color panels. So, let’s say this is for a forest type biome or sand or snow, and they even have an orange side for search and rescue so they can be found. And they can be shelter if they need to as well,” he said.

While it can seem time consuming and tedious, making sure these chutes are ready to go ensures that the aircrew can safely eject and make it back home.

“I joined at 17. I never thought I’d be packing a parachute in the military. Just nice to know that we’re getting people home safe to the families if they have to use our equipment,” said Ha.

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