Man Killed in Skydiving AccidentA 34-year-old man has become the second Briton in less than a year to be killed in a parachuting accident at a skydiving school in central Spain.
Police are investigating after Richard Taylor dropped 20,000ft to the ground when he became tangled in his emergency parachute.
The incident happened at the Airelibre school near Ocana - also known as Skydive Madrid. Another Briton, Andrew Bearne, 39, from Surrey, died at the same school last August.
Mr Taylor had already performed four or five successful jumps after starting a parachuting course at the school two or three days earlier. He was there with three other English students.
Instructor at the school, Ricardo Delafuente, said: 'He didn't open his first parachute. His emergency parachute opened but he was falling in a very bad position and it appeared to get tangled around his hand.'
Mr Delafuente added: 'Everyone was very upset. This is only the second death at the school in the 20 years since it has been open. About 200,000 successful jumps have taken place in that time,' he said.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We can confirm the death of a British national in a skydiving accident in Spain on June 30.'
Copyright © Press Association 2009
Tim Beasley, Personal Injury Partner at Levenes Birmingham office writes:-
This is obviously a tragic case but it has wider implications beyond the personal tragedy for Mr Taylor and his family. Although parachuting is a dangerous sport and sometimes it is argued that participants must accept the risk of somthing going wrong, one does not consent to the risk of malfunction of the equipment which should be free of defect, suitable and properly maintained. No doubt the Police investigation will focus on why the equipment malfunctioned and whether there was any negligence. Although the accident happened in Spain, where Spanish law applies, the law relating to Defective Equipment is Europe wide following the EU Product Liability Directive of 1985. This case will therefore be of interest to parachutists and Skydiving Schools all over Europe.
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