I see Dee falling with his back-pack unopened. I assumed that he would free-fall for a time, which he did, as I was to find out almost a year later. When I left the cockpit the busily unwinding altimeter indicated somewhere between 16,000 and 18,000 feet. It is partially open and a small bit of white nylon is flapping wildly about in front of my face. I'll get to do this only once, so I carefully remove my gloves and open the parachute pack further and immediately uncover the problem.
Pilot chutes are last in the order of packing a parachute.
Containing two thin pieces of wood in the shape of a cross to hold the pilot chute open as it pulls the main parachute canopy free of the pack. This particular parachute is a 22 foot Irving, a small size for people weighing 150 pounds or less. I can see that the ends of these particular slats are hung up in the corners of the small pack. Grasping the reluctant pilot chute assembly I pull it out. With a pop it drags the main canopy out into the free air where it deploys properly.