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In an accident which occurred on March 9, 2020 pro skier Nick McNutt was using a Pieps DSP avalanche beacon, which is now believed to have malfunctioned and switched off while McNutt was skiing.
“In the following days I was in disbelief that Nick’s transceiver had turned off,” ACMG guide Christina Lustenberger, who was present, wrote. “The experience left me questioning the integrity of the Pieps DSP Pro. A few days after the incident I sent an email to the guiding community inquiring about similar experiences or issues with this device. I was surprised to see my email flooded with similar accounts.”
According to Lustenberger, the possible problem is that the DSP Pro beacon “can switch modes easily without the user’s knowledge … Due to poor design the button wears out and no longer provides resistance allowing it to slide out of send mode,” she continued in her post.
Since then, several others in the guiding and skiing community have subsequently noted similar issues with the slide lock mechanism, and Pieps and Black Diamond now face a class-action lawsuit related to these claims.
For a complete story and video check out the story on Gear Junkie: https://gearjunkie.com/nick-mcnutt-avalanche-pieps-beacon-dsppro
