Factual Information
The occurrence involved a recreational wingsuit flyer who was unable to recover after entering a spin, resulting in an uncontrolled descent and impact with the ground, resulting in fatal injuries.
History of the Flight
On 20 October 2024, at 11:11 local time, a DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft, registered as A6-SD6, owned and operated by Skydive Dubai, commenced a commercial skydiving mission from the Skydive Desert Drop Zone in Margham, Dubai, UAE. The aircraft carried 14 parachutists, 2 wingsuit flyers, and a pilot.
After takeoff, the parachutists and wingsuit flyers readied themselves for freefall as the aircraft climbed to 13,000 feet. Among them was a wingsuit flyer completing his fourth jump of the day as part of a training session. The flyer was a tourist participating for recreational purposes and to improve his skills in recovering from instability, as stated by the instructor.
Video footage from the instructor's overhead camera shows the flyer exiting the aircraft in an unstable position and successfully regaining control on his first attempt. After stabilizing, the instructor directed the flyer to re-enter instability via hand signal. In response, the flyer initiated a barrel roll but became unstable, resulting in an inadvertent flat spin. His recovery movements did not align with standard operating procedures, leading to a rapid, uncontrolled descent. The flyer descended outside the designated drop zone area.
Injuries and Damage
The flyer sustained fatal injuries upon immediate impact with the ground, resulting in multiple fractures and severe trauma throughout his body, according to the forensic report. The forensic examination revealed a deep laceration on the upper posterior right thigh with a fracture and protruding bone fragments, a laceration with a comminuted fracture on the posterior left buttock, and fractures in the nose, forehead, jaw, and throughout the upper chest, back, and lower limbs. Extensive abrasions were present on the forehead, anterior chest, back, and both upper and lower limbs. A toxicology report confirmed the absence of narcotics and alcohol in his body.
No damage was observed in the wingsuit, main parachute, or reserve parachute.
Wingsuit and Parachute Information
The wingsuit was an Airglide Falcon 2, a beginner model designed for ease of control. The flyer owned and maintained both the wingsuit and parachute. The main parachute was a JYRO Kraken-139, and the reserve parachute was an Icarus Nano-126. The container was a United Parachute Technologies Vector-3. The automatic activation device was a Vigil-2 Cuarto (Pro). The reserve static line was present. The flyer had used the same wingsuit gear since registering it on 17 September 2024.
The flyer did not deploy the main parachute as per standard operating procedures. Although the AAD successfully activated the pilot chute, it was unable to fully deploy the reserve due to the flyer's rapid spin, which caused the reserve pilot chute bridle to wrap and prevented the parachute from inflating properly. Images indicate that the pilot chute riser deployment created tension marks around the flyer's neck.
Automatic Activation Device (AAD)
The UAE Civil Aviation Regulations require all parachutists to use equipment fitted with an operational AAD until they have completed the training phase and been issued a license. The AAD is a safety mechanism designed to automatically deploy the reserve parachute if the main parachute has not been deployed by a certain altitude. It consists of a processor unit, control unit, and cutter unit. The processor unit contains a factory-programmed microprocessor that calculates altitude and descent rate based on barometric pressure.
The Club's operational manual states that all parachutists must use equipment with an operational AAD turned on unless freefall delay is less than 10 seconds.