The lanyard that is pulled by a parachute to ignite a flare is cut and a safety coupling inserted. One end of the lanyard is fastened to a small housing that holds a shear pin and a much heavier, acceleration-actuated pin. The other end of the lanyard forms a loop that encompasses both pins. If the lanyard is pulled at low accelerations, the shear pin is broken and the lanyard separates. At high accelerations, however, the acceleration-actuated pin is inserted into the lanyard loop, by force of the acceleration, and prevents separation of the lanyard.