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Incident Report (12 Years)
Incident Report (12 Years)
skydiving, pinhole photograph, photogravure
2013

Age: 60
Sex: Female
Time in Sport: 12 years
Total Number of Jumps: 700-plus
Skydives Within the Last 12 Months: Not reported
Cause of Death: Impact following a low cutaway and reserve deployment

Description: After an uneventful 2-way formation skydive, the jumpers separated at approximately 4,000 feet above ground level, and this jumper deployed her main canopy at approximately 3,000 feet. Witnesses on the ground reported seeing her main canopy—which appeared to be fully inflated with no line twists—in a spin immediately after it opened. The spin continued until the jumper pulled her cutaway handle to release her main canopy at approximately 200 feet above the ground. At this point, the reserve static line pulled the reserve ripcord pin, which immediately initiated reserve deployment. The canopy cleared its freebag and was in the process of inflating, but there was insufficient altitude for it to fully inflate and slow the jumper’s descent rate before she struck the ground. First responders arrived on the scene immediately, but the hard impact with the ground had killed her instantly.