SFL-2023-010 · Cause: Landing – intentional low turn
Partially verified Facts as reported in the sources below. This is not an official investigation.
Incident
- Date
- 18.03.2023
- Country
- USA
- Drop zone
- Skydive Fitzgerald
- Place
- Fitzgerald, Georgia
- Context
- Sport / fun jump
- Jump type
- Swoop / canopy piloting
- Phase
- Approach & landing
Jumper
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 42
- Total jumps
- 5,000
- Years in sport
- 6
Equipment
- Main canopy
- 70 sq ft
- Wing loading
- 3 lb/sq ft
Cause
- Category
- Landing – intentional low turn
- Contributing factors
- Wind / turbulence
What happened
At an airport that was not a regular drop zone. He made a 270° turn to a downwind high-performance landing in gusty winds of 15–25 mph, started too low, hit the ground at high speed and slid into a parked vehicle. He was flying a 70 sq ft cross-braced canopy at a wing loading of 3.0.
Lessons for safety
Gusty winds and unfamiliar landing areas leave no margin for high-performance approaches.
Sources
- www.uspa.org Federation, USPA 2023 fatality summary, case #1 (anonymous)
Is something wrong or missing? Send a correction and mention SFL-2023-010.