Airworthiness Directives; The Uninsured Relative Workshop Inc. Vector Parachute Systems

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all The Uninsured Relative Workshop Inc. (doing business as and referred to herein as Relative Workshop) vector parachute systems that were manufactured between January 1, 1996, and September 10, 1998. This AD requires inspecting the amp fittings on the end of the breakaway housing for proper swaging, and re-swaging any incorrectly swaged fittings using the Nicopress<SUP></SUP> or Swage-It swaging tool. This AD is the result of a quality control problem on Relative Workshop vector parachute systems. In particular, a loose amp fitting was found on the breakaway housing during packing of one of these vector parachute systems. Further analysis reveals that the amp fittings on the end of the stainless steel breakaway housing were improperly swaged, and that this condition could exist on any of the 2,127 parachute systems that were manufactured during the above- referenced time period. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent the amp fittings from coming off the stainless steel breakaway housing, which could result in an unintentional partial breakaway of the main chute and interference with the deployment of the reserve parachute.