SFL-2024-031 · Cause: Landing – problem not involving turn
Partially verified Facts as reported in the sources below. This is not an official investigation.
Incident
- Date
- 02.08.2024
- Date of death
- 04.08.2024
- Country
- USA
- Drop zone
- Skydive Perris
- Place
- Perris, Riverside County, California
- Context
- Student
- Jump type
- Tandem
- Role
- Tandem passenger
- Phase
- Approach & landing
Jumper
- Age
- 28
- Total jumps
- 0
Cause
- Category
- Landing – problem not involving turn
- Contributing factors
- Wind / turbulence
What happened
Tandem passenger on her first jump. On final, at about 30–40 ft, the canopy was hit by strong turbulence or a dust devil and the pair struck the ground. She died in hospital two days later.
Lessons for safety
Dust devils are a known desert hazard: stop jumping when they are forming near the landing area.
Others who died in this incident
Sources
- www.uspa.org Federation, USPA 2024 fatality summary, case #4 (anonymous)
Is something wrong or missing? Send a correction and mention SFL-2024-031.