Your Rig Got Stolen — Here's Exactly What to Do (and Where to Report It)
A stolen rig is gut-wrenching. It's thousands of dollars, but it's also your canopy, packed the way you like it, with hundreds of jumps of trust built in. The good news: skydiving gear is one of the hardest things on earth to fence. The community is small, serial numbers are everywhere, and a flagged rig can't get a legal repack. Move fast and you have a real shot at getting it back.
Here's the order of operations.
First hour: lock down the basics
- Find your serial numbers. Container, main, reserve, AAD, even your altimeter. If you recorded them already (see the bottom of this post), you're golden. If not, dig through your purchase receipts, rigger's logbook, and reserve packing data card.
- File a police report immediately. This is non-negotiable. You need a case/report number for insurance and for any chance of recovery. Give them the serials, make/model, colors, and dollar value. In the US, that's your local PD or sheriff; in Canada, local police or the RCMP detachment.
- Photograph what you have left — receipts, packing data card, any photos of the gear with the colors visible.
Where to report it in the community
This is where skydiving is different from any other stolen-property situation. Get the word out to the people who'll actually see your rig.
- USPA Stolen Gear listing — USPA publishes stolen-gear reports to members as a free service. Submit yours at uspa.org (Information → Stolen Gear). This is the single most-watched list in US skydiving.
- Dropzone.com — post in the Gear & Rigging forum and check their Stolen section. Old-school, but riggers and gear buyers still read it.
- Manufacturers — call or email the maker of every component: container (UPT/Vector, Sun Path/Javelin, Mirage, Wings, Infinity), canopy (PD, Aerodyne, NZ Aerosports, Icarus), and especially your AAD maker (Cypres/SSK or Vigil). Give them serials. If the thief ever sends that rig in for service or a repack, it gets flagged. This is one of the most effective steps — a rig can't legally jump without a current reserve repack, and riggers check.
- Facebook groups — post in the big gear groups ("Skydiving Gear For Sale," stolen-gear groups) and every regional/DZ group near where it was taken. Photos and serials. The community shares these fast.
- Your home DZ and local riggers — tell your DZO, S&TA, and area riggers. Stolen rigs surface at repack time or when someone tries to sell.
Canadian jumpers: do all of the above, and also flag it with CSPA and your home DZ network. The manufacturer + AAD notifications matter just as much north of the border — those serials are global.
Hunt the marketplaces
Stolen gear gets sold. Set up alerts and check regularly:
- eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji (Canada), and Craigslist
- Dropzone.com classifieds and gear groups
- Watch for the tells: brand-new rig with a suspiciously low price, vague seller who fumbles skydiving terms, hidden or missing serial number, no willingness to let a rigger inspect it
If you spot your gear, do not confront the seller or arrange a meet yourself. Screenshot everything and hand it to the police with your case number. Let them recover it.
File your insurance claim
- Homeowner's or renter's policy may cover it, or a specialty/scheduled policy if you have one.
- You'll need the police report number, serials, proof of ownership (receipts), and replacement values.
- Even if you recover the rig, having the claim open protects you.
The 10 minutes that make all of this possible
Most of recovery comes down to one thing: did you write down your serial numbers before it was stolen? Do it today.
- Record the serial + date of manufacture for your container, main, reserve, AAD, and altimeter.
- Take clear photos showing the colors and any unique markings.
- Store it somewhere off your phone — email it to yourself, drop it in cloud notes.
- Bonus: a UV pen or discreet marking that only you know about can confirm ownership later.
A rig with documented serials, spread across the manufacturers, the AAD maker, USPA, and the Facebook hive mind is radioactive — almost impossible to sell and easy to identify. That's your best insurance, and it's free.
Had gear stolen or recovered a rig the community helped find? Share your story — the more serials and warnings circulating, the harder it is for thieves to win.