Army Radio Would Have Saved Parachutist: Coroner
A coroner investigating the death of a British soldier has said that his life would have been saved if the Army’s policy was to supply trainee parachutists with radios.
Captain Daniel Wright died in a parachute jump incident that took place in November 2005. His main parachute having failed to deploy, he opened his reserve ‘chute with insufficient time remaining.
According to Andrew Walker, the coroner involved, Capt. Wright was observed attempting to resolve the issue with his main parachute.
Instructors Urged Jumper to Cut Off Main Parachute
During the inquest, those present saw video footage which showed ground-based instructors urging him to “cut it away, get it off” – a reference to the main parachute.
While the captain did open his spare ‘chute, he did so one-and-a-half seconds past the point that his life could have been saved.
Upon hitting the ground, he died instantaneously from multiple injuries.
Radio Communications Would Have Saved Soldier's Life: Coroner
"Captain Wright misidentified the malfunction as one he should take action to remedy and, as a consequence, when he deployed his reserve parachute it did not have sufficient time to open”, Mr Walker stated.
"Captain Wright, on the balance of probability, would not have died had an operator on the ground at the drop zone been able to communicate with him using a radio.
"At the time Captain Wright took the parachute course, requests for these radios had been refused as funding was only available for essential items.
"Let there be no doubt, this tragedy happened for the want of a simple, inexpensive piece of equipment."
The inquest into Captain’s Wright death has been taking place all this week. On the 13th March, an extract was read out in which an influential figure from RAF Brize Norton – the base from which he had earlier taken off – said that radios were “long overdue”.
An Army board has proposed that new jumpers should carry an electronic warning device that emits sound when at too low an altitude.
An MoD board of inquiry discovered that gaps in training and procedures were not to blame for Captain Wright’s death. Simultaneously, it was unable to explain either why the main parachute would not open, or why Wright had delayed deploying the reserve.
Source – Armed Forces International’s Political Correspondent
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