As of: March 6, 2024, 6:00 a.m
By: Boris Forstner
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The parachutists are allowed to board the M-28, but automatic release is currently prohibited.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
For months there has been a ban on taking off the aircraft with which the parachutists normally complete their training in Altenstadt.
The story is completely lost.
Altenstadt – Lieutenant Colonel Martin Holle is still puzzling over what really happened.
The M-28 Skytruck has been in use for parachutist training since mid-2017, well before Holle started work in Altenstadt in 2021. There have never been any problems over the years - until automatic release from the machine was prohibited.
The point of contention is the “jumper return recovery facility”.
During the automatic release, the parachutists are hooked in and when they jump out of the plane, the parachute is automatically opened using a pull-on cord.
“Theoretically, it can happen that something gets caught and the jumper is dragged behind on the leash,” says Holle.
The jumper then has to be pulled back into the plane using the recovery device.
This works electrically.
“In other countries the jumpers were simply cut off; they always had a reserve parachute with them,” says Holle.
Of course we don't do that anymore today.
Therefore, the M-28, which belongs to a private operator in Magdeburg, was retrofitted with the system.
If necessary, the structure is inserted into the airframe, onto existing rails, to ensure stability.
According to the operator, the three-year development took place in close coordination with the Bundeswehr Aviation Office (LufaBW).
“We tested this with 80 kilo dummies here in Altenstadt, and it always worked without any problems,” says Holle – in an emergency, the retrieval device has never been needed in thousands of parachute jumps from the M-28.
This is what the Bundeswehr and the Federal Aviation Office say
Researching the background is not easy – and quite confusing.
In response to our inquiry, the Army press center responsible for the LL/LTS Altenstadt said: “According to the order of the Federal Aviation Office, the flight operating license for the use of the Lfz M-28 Skytruck for jump service with automatic release has been suspended since November 2023.” Background information: This The first veto came in June, but was then overturned weeks later for some unknown reason before the final veto came to an end in November.
The request to the Federal Aviation Office (LBA) is, in turn, astonishing given the clarity of the Army press office: “No approval was revoked by the Federal Aviation Office because the automatic parachute jump operation is not the subject of a civil approval.”
And further: “If the company is seeking a change or extension of the civil approval/approval (e.g. for an automatic jump), the company can contact the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency, editor's note) and the LBA Then proof must be provided that “the necessary technical and flight operational requirements have been created in accordance with the relevant civil aviation regulations in order to ensure safe flight operations with the aircraft used even in such cases (e.g. for an automated jump).
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Developed together for years, but still no approval
How can it be that a system has been developed together with the LufABW for years and then supposedly has no approval?
At the Bundeswehr authority, two employees who do not want to be named take a lot of time, say a few things that are not allowed to be written and try to explain the facts.
In summary, the result is: Although the “jumper retrieval and recovery facility” is a purely military story, the LBA is suddenly of the opinion that it also needs civilian approval for it - and Ober underscores Unter, i.e. LBA the LufABW.
The LBA apparently took action after repeated intervention by a private citizen who had filed several criminal complaints against the Bundeswehr after the M-28 was awarded the contract.
The LufABW is now desperately looking for a solution.
It is currently being examined whether the M-28 can continue to be used for automatic jumps without having to fear legal consequences.
“Because there is no comparable aircraft available,” says the spokesman – which doesn’t give much hope when the contract with the operator ends in 2025 and has to be put out to tender again, which is currently being prepared.
The large A400M as a replacement is only an emergency solution: “It is actually not intended for skydiving training, and we are not blessed with such a number that we can always use it for this purpose.” They would ideally like to use it again tomorrow M-28 flying.
One solution could be for the M-28 operator to have the retrofit approved by the LBA.
But he doesn't even think about it because, in his opinion, it's not necessary: "The aircraft is still in use in several countries abroad."
The manufacturer, the US company Lockheed Martin, is also of the opinion that retrofitting the retrieval facility is only a minor intervention that does not need to be approved.
“The EASA has also confirmed this,” said the operator.
He would possibly also take legal action against a negative decision from the LBA, “but there is no such thing”.
Every A400M visit burns enormous amounts of money
The current procedure shows that the failure of the M-28
not only severely disrupts skydiving training, but is also a financial disaster
.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Martin Holle, commander of the LL/LTS, the Airbus A400 is available approximately once a month and then flies from Wunstorf (Lower Saxony).
The
flight hour costs 60,000 euros, so just for arrival and departure
it costs 180,000 euros (we reported).
But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The M-28 stationed in Magdeburg, where a flight hour costs 6,000 euros, can take off and land in Altenstadt, which saves considerable time.
The A400M had to switch to Memmingen, Lagerlechfeld or, most recently
, even Oberpfaffenhofen because the other two options were not available.
This means that the soldiers from Altenstadt have to
travel long distances
- and not just once.
Because in practice it looks like this: The A400M arrives and the course participants from Altenstadt are taken by bus to one of the three airfields.
They get in, the A400M flies off, the soldiers jump off at the drop-off point above Altenstadt.
With the M-28, up to 14 passengers can jump off one after the other.
The A400, on the other hand, can
accommodate up to 80 soldiers
because the rare jump capacities obviously have to be used.
Because the drop-off point will eventually come to an end, the A400M has to
turn around, approach again and drop off the second 20
, then the next and the next group again.
This costs time –
around two hours
according to Holle – and of course money.
When everyone has been dropped off, the soldiers get
back on the bus with newly packed parachutes and back to the airfield
to make the next jump.
And sometimes a third.
It continues the next day until, ideally, all course participants have completed the
required five jumps
.
Up to five flights over two days, each lasting several hours - you don't have to be a math genius to know that
each visit to the A400M in Altenstadt
costs close to a million euros.
Because sometimes something doesn't work, for example the weather is too bad like last week with too much wind over Altenstadt when the A400M circled over Weilheim for a long time, or it is needed for other purposes, not all soldiers manage to make the required five jumps.
Sometimes jumpers completely miss the A400 time slot for the three-week course
- as was the case last week, when the aircraft, which had arrived a day late, had to make the return journey due to a defect.
These soldiers
then have to travel from all over Germany
when the A400M arrives again - an enormous effort.
In their distress, the people of Altenstadt have
already put out feelers to the C130 Hercules
, also a large transport aircraft that belongs to the joint aircraft squadron with France.
However, there are
only a handful of these machines so far and they are stationed in France
- a good plan looks different.