| Date | Location | Category | Age | # Jumps | AAD?/RSL? | Dropzone.com Report | Dropzone.com Discussion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16/04/2003 | Hinton-in-the-Hedges, England | MAL? | 75 | 9 | ?/? | #665680 | ||
| Description: Vague news reports describe presumably a student getting into "difficulties" and hitting the ground at high speed. He later died of his injuries in hospital. | ||||||||
| Lessons:More information required | ||||||||
| BPA Description: At approximately 10.20 hours on Wednesday 16th April 2003, the deceased boarded a Cessna 206 aircraft at the Hinton Skydiving Centre, in order to make what is believed to have been his tenth jump, following a number of jumps spread over a period of just under three years. His first jump being a Tandem jump had taken place on the 6th July 2000. He had completed several training courses and revision-training sessions during that period, the last having taken place that morning.
The aircraft climbed to 2,200 ft AGL above the PLA, where the Jumpmaster released a WDI. The aircraft then climbed to 3,500 ft, during which time the Jumpmaster gave the deceased a pre-jump check. The aircraft then ‘ran in’ over the top of the PLA, at which time he was instructed to move to the door to prepare for exit. On the command of the Jumpmaster, he made a good release from the aircraft, maintaining a good body position. As the parachute started to deploy, he was seen to catch his arm in the parachute rigging lines. The parachute was seen to fully deploy, but was then observed to be turning to the left, and continued to do so until he impacted with the ground. |
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| BPA Conclusions:A BPA Board of Inquiry was formed, consisting of John Hitchen, Tony Butler and Ian Cashman. During the investigation it was discovered that the deceased had deceived the Clubs he had jumped at into believing that he was 63 years of age. It was subsequently discovered that he was 75 years of age.
Following the investigation, the Board came to the following Conclusions: His initial exit from the aircraft was good, but as the main parachute started to deploy he may have caught his left arm in the rigging lines, causing the main parachute to distort on full deployment. It is also possible that the static line initially went under his arm during exit, thereby enabling the parachute deployment bag and risers to pass under his arm and his arm then catching in the parachute rigging lines, which could have had the same effect, of distorting the parachute, causing it to rotate. The Board believe that he made no attempt to extract his arm from the parachute rigging lines, either because he was unconscious, or because he was unable to for either physical or psychological reasons. The Board believe that the parachute continued to rotate until impact. It is unlikely that he would have been permitted to take part in initial parachute training had any of the clubs known his correct age’. |
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| Name | Francis Charles Simmons | |||||||