Horror as RAF teacher movies personal loss of life after parachute fails throughout bounce

Jul 10, 2023 at 7:37 AM
Horror as RAF teacher movies personal loss of life after parachute fails throughout bounce

An RAF teacher’s parachute failed as she was filming her 12,000ft fall, resulting in her unwittingly capturing her personal loss of life.

Sergeant Rachel Fisk, 32, fell to her loss of life at 120mph inside moments of constructing a movie of different parachutists leaping in tandem as a part of a coaching train on September 2, 2021 at RAF Weston-on-the-Green airfield in Oxfordshire. 

An RAF supply advised the Mail on Sunday: “It was a freak accident, an absolute tragedy. I hate to think what Rachel’s last thoughts were.”

A navy investigation has now revealed what went fallacious through the bounce. 

It has partly been knowledgeable by the footage filmed on a GoPro digicam connected to Sgt Fisk’s head.

Sgt Fisk was conducting an train with catering employees from RAF Marham in Norfolk.

During this train, novices are connected to extra skilled free-fallers.

Following three profitable jumps, Sgt Fisk swapped her first parachute system out for her second, after noticing some twists within the rigging strains of the primary.

A report has now revealed that Sgt Fisk was the final parachutist to leap out of a Cessna airplane, and the ultimate bounce began with out incident, with the skilled jumper filming one of many tandem pairs in free fall till they reached an altitude of round 5,000ft, after they deployed their chute.

But Sgt Fisk then continued to fall additional and was “displaying a small amount of body movement” when the bottom got here into view.

The GoPro footage revealed that seconds earlier than her loss of life, she seemed upwards, with the tape revealing that her reserve chute had turn out to be tangled and couldn’t be deployed.

The ultimate body of the video was taken 0.034 seconds earlier than influence.

While colleagues initially assumed she had landed safely, the tragedy grew to become obvious when she couldn’t be positioned, and emergency providers have been known as at round 5.30pm.

The report discovered that Sgt Fisk’s parachute failed due to air turbulence produced by her physique.

It added that her non-RAF concern jumpsuit might have contributed to the tragedy.

Commenting on the tragedy, Sgt Fisk’s household mentioned: “It is with great sadness that we mourn the death of our dear daughter, Rachel. She lived her life with joy and thoughtfulness for others and loved the career she had chosen. Rachel will be missed by so many.”

The RAF mentioned: “Our thoughts remain with Sgt Fisk’s family. The inquiry into this tragic accident is now complete and we will carefully consider the recommendations and take necessary actions.

“She lived life with pleasure and liked her profession.”