SFL-2023-027 · Cause: Landing – intentional low turn
Partially verified Facts as reported in the sources below. This is not an official investigation.
Incident
- Date
- 24.06.2023
- Country
- USA
- Drop zone
- Skydive Spaceland Houston
- Place
- Rosharon, Texas
- Jump type
- Swoop / canopy piloting
- Phase
- Approach & landing
Jumper
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 29
- Total jumps
- 1,850
- Years in sport
- 12
Equipment
- Main canopy
- 97 sq ft
- Wing loading
- 1.50 lb/sq ft
Cause
- Category
- Landing – intentional low turn
- Contributing factors
- Water landing
What happened
Swoop into a pond. She started a 270° turn at about 500 ft, hit the water in a steep dive and came to rest face down. She was flying a 97 sq ft cross-braced canopy at a wing loading of 1.5.
Lessons for safety
Even over water, a dive that does not recover is lethal. Abort the turn if it is not going to plan.
Sources
- www.uspa.org Federation, USPA 2023 fatality summary, case #3 (anonymous)
Is something wrong or missing? Send a correction and mention SFL-2023-027.