Fatality at Air Capital Skydiving Center, Kansas

By Phil Haase

Geoff Peggs, Age 21, died in a skydiving accident on Friday, June 15th in Wichita, Kansas. Geoff was making his 5th or 6th jump with a Birdman suit when he exited the Cessna 182 from 11,000 feet. Witnesses on the ground observed deployment at an estimated 4,000 feet AGL. The main parachute started to spin immediately after deployment and continued until impact. The Coroner stated that the injuries sustained upon impact caused immediate death.

Two USPA S&TA's, in cooperation with the Sedgwick County Sheriff and Coroners office conducted the investigation at the scene. The investigation showed that the right suspension lines were routed under Geoff's right arm and wrapped tightly around his right leg. The slider was wrapped around his right foot.. The canopy, a cobalt 150, was fully deployed but with this "horsehoe" malfunction the canopy started an unrecoverable spin. The cutaway handle was unaccessible because of the way the suspension lines pressed the birdman wing against his body, totally covering the cutaway handle. It is the consensus of the two S&TA's investigating this incident that even if Geoff could have cut away, the suspension lines were so severely wrapped around the arms, legs, and foot that it would not have made a difference in clearing the malfunction.

The reserve was not deployed, but the reserved handle was dislodged, most likely as a result of impact.

The S&TA's concur in their opinion that this incident was probably the result of deploying in an unstable body position. We have no way of knowing for sure if the Birdman suit was the only contributing factor, but since Geoff was a jumper with approx 300 jumps and no history of problems prior to this incident, Geoff's limited experience with the Birdman suit was most likely a factor in creating an unstable body position at deployment, resulting in a horsehoe malfunction. Unfortunately, because of the nature of this particular situation, Geoff was left with little or no options to correct the situation.

Geoff was an INCREDIBLE guy. He seemed to fit in wherever he jumped and truly had a passion for skydiving. He was a student at Kansas State University and was planning an exciting career in aviation. He will be greatly missed by all of us.

The funeral arrangments are being handled by Downing & Lahey Mortuary in Wichita, Kansas (316) 682-4553. The funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, June 20th. Please call the mortuary for the exact time. I think the best thing we can do to show our support for Geoff's family is to attend the funeral. The family knows how much skydiving meant to Geoff. We need to show them how much Geoff meant to us.

God Speed Geoff!

Phil Haase, Owner
Air Capital Skydiving Center
Wichita, Kansas
(316)776-1700

More Safety News (114)

• Gear Issues factor in death of British jumper - Friday, March 19, 2004
  
• Gulfport skydiver killed in stunt landing - Friday, January 2, 2004
  
• Kiwi-built skydiving plane crashes at sea, killing pilot - Saturday, December 27, 2003
  
• Six killed in mid-air plane crash in Germany - Saturday, August 23, 2003
  
• BASE jumping injuries and treatment in the field - Sunday, July 27, 2003
  
• Research on Injuries Sustained from Hard Openings - Sunday, July 27, 2003
  
• Murder inquiry into skydiving death - Sunday, July 6, 2003
  
• Skydiving plane crash kills four - Monday, June 16, 2003
  
• Roger Nelson dies after canopy collision - Monday, June 16, 2003
  
• Mass skydive to honor 2 killed in biplane crash - Tuesday, April 29, 2003