# Incident 20070528009609I: Taft, CA, May 28, 2007

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 28, 2007, 15:30 local time
- Place: Taft, CA
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Parachute Jumping
- Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
- Location: 35.1267° N, 119.4242° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Taft, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1267&lon=-119.4242&mi=10
- Aircraft: UNKNOWN (not matched to a registry record)
- Fatal injuries: 1
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070528009609I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) A SKYDIVER SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES FOLLOWING APPARENT EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTION AFTER PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE MAIN CHUTE OPEN AT APPROXIMATELY 2500' AGL FOLLOWED BY THE SKYDIVER ATTEMPTING TO RELEASE IT FOR UNKNOWN REASONS. THEREAFTER, THE RESERVE CHUTE WAS OBSERVED TO DEPLOY AND OPEN. IT APPEARED TO TANGLE WITH THE MAIN CHUTE WHICH WAS STILL CONNECTED TO THE SKYDIVER. THE SKYDIVER WAS THEN OBSERVED TO ROTATE UNDER BOTH CHUTES AND APPEARED TO BE OUT OF CONTROL. THE RESERVE CHUTE WAS OBSERVED TO COLLAPSE AT AN APPROXIMATE ALTITUDE OF 75' TO 100' AGL. THE VICTIM LANDED JUST OUTSIDE THE AIRPORT BOUNDARY (SW) IN A DITCH. WITNESSES STATED THAT THE SHROUDS OF THE RESERVE CHUTE HAD BEEN CUT AND FOUND THE VICTIM'S BREAK AWAY KNIFE NEAR HIS REMAINS. A JUMP MASTER WHO WITNESSED THE INCIDENT SPECULATED THAT THE VICTIM WAS ATTEMPTING TO CUT AWAY FROM THE MAIN CHUTE AND CUT HIS RESERVE LINES BY MISTAKE. THE VICTIM WAS AN EXPERIENCED SKYDIVER WHO HAD PACKED HIS OWN MAIN CHUTE PRIOR TO THE JUMP. THE RESERVE CHUTE CONTAINED A CARD INDICATING IT HAD BEEN PACKED I/A/W 14 CFR 105.43. THE CAUSE OF THE MAIN CHUTE MALFUNCTION IS UNDETERMINED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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