Parachute death

An inquest has heard that the life of a soldier who died on his fist day of parachute training with Army Special Forces may have been saved if he had been supplied with a radio.

The 25 year old, Capt Daniel Wright from South Wales, was in Oxfordshire when his parachute failed to open.

Despite Personnel on the ground shouting to him to cut away his main chute, the inquest heard that by the time he opened his reserve chute at 200ft it was too late.

Capt Wright's mother has called on the army to learn from his death.

Assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire, Andrew Walker, addressed Witness A asking whether he thought radios were necessary for soldiers on first jumps. Witness A said that in their opinion it would be "advantageous."

When pushed, Witness A went on to say that it was likely that Capt Wright's life would have been saved by a radio.

Sion Kingston from the Irwin Mitchell Armed Forces Accident Team commented: "This is yet another tragic, but avoidable death, caused by the MOD's failure to ensure that there is adequate equipment supplied to Service personnel and specifically, British Special Forces."

Irwin Mitchell - Armed Forces Accident Claims Team

All Armed Forces Accidents (On and Off duty) and MoD Claims are handled by our specialist Armed Forces Accident claims team who have the expert knowledge and experience to deal with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), their claims handling insurers and solicitors.

Our Armed Forces Accident Team has a significant amount of experience of acting on behalf of members of the Special Forces who have been injured on and off duty. We understand the difficulties and sensitive issues that are involved in these types of claims and we can ensure that you not only get the right legal advice, but where appropriate, the right welfare support and guidance.

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in Military Injuries Claims including Fatal Military Claims.