|
Main Reserve Entanglement Injures Skydiver in ScotlandPosted Sunday, April 8, 2001 By Gillian Harris A TRAINEE skydiver was seriously ill in hospital last night after his parachute failed to open during a jump from 3,200ft. Craig Paton, 26, hit the ground at 40mph at Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross.
He was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee suffering from internal bleeding and back and chest injuries and was later transferred to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh where his condition was said to be critical but stable.
Mr Paton, who comes from Kilmarnock and is a member of the Skydiver Strathallan Club, was one of four people booked on a flight leaving Strathallan airfield on Saturday evening.
When his main parachute failed to open properly, Mr Paton tried to deploy his second parachute but it became entangled in the first. He managed to deploy it partially a few hundred feet before he hit the ground, which helped to lessen the impact.
His father said it was a "miracle" that his son was still alive. John Paton, 52, a milkman from Kilmarnock, said: "The doctors who saw him have said that he should not be there. He has suffered massive internal bleeding after bursting the vessels to his kidneys and lungs. He has a broken back and may have sprained his ankle.
"Of course, we are all praying to God for him, but I’m sure that he’ll pull through because he’s fit, active and above all, very stubborn.
"Believe me after this frightening experience he won’t be doing anything as dangerous as this again." Craig’s mother Marion, sister, Dawn, and girlfriend were at his bedside.
Kieran Brady, chairman of the skydiving club, described Mr Paton as a student parachutist who had paid £15 for his jump. He did not know if Mr Paton had completed a solo jump before but knew that he was not a fully qualified skydiver.
"It probably only took him about a minute before he landed in the airfield," Mr Brady said. "Normally it would be four minutes. He was conscious and talking, but he said he was in real pain. He just said, ‘Whatever do you think happened?’ He wanted to tell me, but I didn’t think we should discuss it at that point."
A spokesman for the British Parachute Association confirmed that the incident will be investigated. He said that parachute failures were rare.
- 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
|
|
|
|
news 
About