Parachutist died as lines twisted

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A parachutist died from multiple injuries when he hit the ground on his first jump after his parachute lines became twisted, an inquest has heard.

David Karley, 40, from Hove, East Sussex, was unable to fully clear the twists and cut away from his parachute.

But he was too close to the ground for his reserve chute to be able to break his fall at Headcorn Aerodrome, Kent.

The coroner said there was no evidence that Mr Karley's training was wrong and recorded a verdict of accidental death.

But he said he would be writing to Headcorn Parachute Club and to the British Parachute Association (BPA) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to make a number of recommendations.

Removal man Mr Karley died in the incident on 17 September last year.

David probably panicked because of his inexperience Coroner Stephen Beck

Maidstone Coroner's Court heard on Monday that he had undergone training at the club the day before and got full marks in a written test.

But the lines on his parachute became twisted when he jumped from 3,500ft.

He was able to clear most of them, and at 300ft his instructor was just about to radio him to reassure him that everything would be OK when he cut away from the parachute.

The reserve chute was then deployed, either manually or automatically.

"There's nothing in any of the evidence that leads me to suggest that the training that David received at Headcorn Parachute Club was wrong or was so significantly deficient that there's some culpability," said Coroner Stephen Beck.

But his recommendations would include amending a leaflet given to novices to give a clearer explanation of the difference between twists and other more serious problems.

He said jumpers should be tested on what to do to get rid of twists in the written test.

The club should also watch novices continually if they experienced a problem with parachute deployment, radio advice and delay subsequent jumps.

"David, I think, probably panicked because of his inexperience," said Mr Beck.

"If these steps had been in place there might have been a different outcome."