Damning Report Into Army Parachute Death

A report into a parachuting accident in Germany in which a soldier from 1 Rifles died has been published.

It includes damning evidence of what it calls "a complacent attitude to safety" at the Bad Lippspringe training centre in September 2015. 

Lance Corporal Ali Woodford died when he became entangled with a colleague's parachute on his first ever jump.

The other soldier's reserve parachute opened shortly before he landed, and he was unhurt.

But, Lance Corporal Woodford's own reserve chute did not fully open before he hit the ground and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Service Inquiry concluded that both men could have landed safely together, but their training conditioned them to conduct their Reserve Drill to separate as an immediate action. 

Both soldiers were taking part in an Army adventurous training expedition in Germany with 12 others from 1 RIFLES.

The highly critical report makes thirteen recommendations for improving safety – including the permanent closure of the army’s only parachute centre in Germany where the incident happened.

It also stated that there was no entanglement and collision drill training and that supervision and control fell short of standards the military could reasonably expect.

An inquest into the incident heard today that Cpl Woodford and the unnamed private had been given conflicting routes - putting them on a collision course - by the chief instructor and his deputy after the wind changed direction.

The soldier only saw Cpl Woodford at the last moment, shouting "Woody" and tried to turn away as he drifted towards him.

At 780 feet Cpl Woodford collided with lines of the soldier's parachute and they became entangled for eight seconds.

They both carried out a main canopy cut away and deployed their reserve parachutes.

The chief instructor was heard to say "Oh s**t" when he saw the two soldiers become entangled.

They were jumping at 3,500 feet using static lines - meaning their parachutes were automatically deployed when they left the aircraft.

Reading from a Ministry of Defence Service Inquiry report, Somerset Coroner Tony Williams said Cpl Woodford activated his reserve parachute at sufficient height but due to his body position there was a delay in full deployment.

Student A had activated his reserve parachute at 280 feet but was "incredibly fortunate" to survive the incident unhurt.

Tests afterwards found no faults with either soldiers' parachutes.

The coroner said:

"The lack of a defined and briefed minimum cut away height may have limited Cpl Woodford and Student A's ability to properly assess whether or not they were at an appropriate height at which to conduct the reserve drill."

Lance Corporal Woodford, who was originally from Gloucester, had served in Afghanistan as a heavy machine-gunner in 2011.