SFL-2025-027 · Cause: Canopy collision
Partially verified Facts as reported in the sources below. This is not an official investigation.
Incident
- Date
- 09.07.2025
- Country
- USA
- Drop zone
- Chicagoland Skydiving Center
- Place
- Rochelle, Illinois
- Phase
- Canopy flight
Jumper
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 40
- Total jumps
- 2,900
- Years in sport
- 10
Equipment
- Main canopy
- 75 sq ft
- Wing loading
- 2.90 lb/sq ft
- RSL / MARD
- None
Cause
- Category
- Canopy collision
What happened
Canopy skills camp: a 10-way canopy formation with barrel rolls, deployments at 13,000 ft. During a barrel roll he collided with a jumper from the opposite line and was badly injured. He came down several thousand feet under a spinning main before deploying the reserve while unstable; the reserve also spun and he hit a building. He flew a 75 sq ft cross-braced canopy at 2.9; no RSL.
Lessons for safety
Canopy formation flying needs separation discipline and an agreed plan for collisions.
Sources
- www.mystateline.com Media
- www.uspa.org Federation, USPA 2025 fatality summary, case #6 (anonymous)
Is something wrong or missing? Send a correction and mention SFL-2025-027.