20250726011359I

Incident · No damage

FAA incident report · Aircraft · Melbourne, FL · July 26, 2025

Date
July 26, 2025 · 17:00 local
Place
Melbourne, FL
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
Parachute jumping (Part 105)
Damage
No damage
Aircraft
NONE
People aboard
0
Fatal injuries
1
Other injuries
0

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

During a beach jump event at Melbourne beach, Florida, on the final jump of the day, a parachutist suffered a fatal landing. Witnesses reported the parachutist was under a fully deployed canopy and appeared to be in controlled flight. At approximately 30 feet above ground level (AGL), a sudden change in wind direction or possible mismanagement of flight controls resulted in an abrupt impact with the hard-packed sand. The parachutist flipped upon landing and came to rest on the beach, sustaining fatal injuries. A post-incident inspection of the parachute system revealed no defects, and the reserve parachute was current in accordance with repack requirements.

As the FAA filed it

DURING A BEACH JUMP EVENT AT MELBOURNE BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THE FINAL JUMP OF THE DAY, A PARACHUTIST SUFFERED A FATAL LANDING. WITNESSES REPORTED THE PARACHUTIST WAS UNDER A FULLY DEPLOYED CANOPY AND APPEARED TO BE IN CONTROLLED FLIGHT. AT APPROXIMATELY 30 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL), A SUDDEN CHANGE IN WIND DIRECTION OR POSSIBLE MISMANAGEMENT OF FLIGHT CONTROLS RESULTED IN AN ABRUPT IMPACT WITH THE HARD-PACKED SAND. THE PARACHUTIST FLIPPED UPON LANDING AND CAME TO REST ON THE BEACH, SUSTAINING FATAL INJURIES. A POST-INCIDENT INSPECTION OF THE PARACHUTE SYSTEM REVEALED NO DEFECTS, AND THE RESERVE PARACHUTE WAS CURRENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH REPACK REQUIREMENTS.