Originally Posted by
Carbon Bootprint
Wow, how tragic. I used to be a sport jumper, though it's been a looong time ago, and I never did a helo jump. However, to echo what aa777888 wrote, in every para aircraft I've jumped from the pilot was also wearing a chute (it's an FAA reg in the US). The ones I saw the guys wearing were all surplus military stuff, so I guess there's no guarantee that they'd work, but parachutes seem to be more reliable than a lot of things I can think of.
Not that it's directly relevant, but it's not a FAR. What drives the use of pilot emergency rigs are either a) they are required by the skydiving door modification STC, or b) common sense. Also, they are usually purpose built rigs identical to those worn by aerobatic pilots and passengers (which is required by the FARs), not mil. surplus.
Here's a good reference for budding aerial delivery drivers:
DiverDriver.com