SFL-2025-029 · Cause: Landing – intentional low turn
Partially verified Facts as reported in the sources below. This is not an official investigation.
Incident
- Date
- 26.07.2025
- Country
- USA
- Place
- Melbourne Beach, Florida
- Context
- Sport / fun jump
- Jump type
- Demo jump
- Phase
- Approach & landing
Jumper
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 58
- Total jumps
- 1,297
- Years in sport
- 8
Equipment
- Main canopy
- 94 sq ft
- Wing loading
- 2.30 lb/sq ft
Cause
- Category
- Landing – intentional low turn
What happened
Turned to final too low and hit the ground in a steep descent. He died during surgery later that day. He was flying a 94 sq ft cross-braced canopy at a wing loading of 2.3.
Lessons for safety
Plan the turn to final with height to spare, especially on unfamiliar demo landing areas.
Sources
- www.wfla.com Media
- www.uspa.org Federation, USPA 2025 fatality summary, case #3 (anonymous)
Is something wrong or missing? Send a correction and mention SFL-2025-029.