Parachute 20 year limit

In these increasingly litigious days, I should have thought people who
run 2-seater flights without parachutes would be wise to learn from
this 1999 event:

“ . . . they were approximately 2,500 feet agl . . . the glider was
struck by lightning and large sections of its airframe disintegrated.

. . . . The student had already decided to abandon the glider and,
after he had departed, the instructor followed but was surprised when
he realised that he had not had to jettison his cockpit canopy. It was
estimated that both parachutes had successfully inflated by 1,800 feet
agl.”

Happy and safe soaring to you all.

Chris N.