{"id":65480,"date":"2018-08-09T22:07:09","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T22:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/09\/after-a-brief-respite-special-operations-parachute-deaths-are-up-this-year\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:02:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:02:27","slug":"after-a-brief-respite-special-operations-parachute-deaths-are-up-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/08\/09\/after-a-brief-respite-special-operations-parachute-deaths-are-up-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"After a brief respite, special operations parachute deaths are up this year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following a record number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2017\/02\/04\/the-navy-seals-and-other-secretive-units-are-quietly-battling-a-frightening-rise-in-parachute-deaths\/\" target=\"_blank\">special operations airborne-related deaths<\/a> in 2015, the military services saw a sharp drop from five down to one in both 2016 and 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But so far in 2018, the number has creeped back up to two \u2015 both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/02\/08\/army-ranger-died-during-free-fall-training-in-january\/\" target=\"_blank\">seasoned senior NCOs<\/a> with dozens of jumps in their logs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army didn\u2019t initially announce the July 1 death of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/08\/03\/army-delta-force-sergeant-major-dies-in-free-fall-parachute-training\/\" target=_blank>Sgt. Maj. Christopher Nelms<\/a>, likely because he was serving in the elite Delta Force organization, as reported by Yahoo News, but he is the second Army sergeant major to die in a parachute accident this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An investigation into Nelms&#8217; death, which came after a June 27 jump in which his parachute failed to open, is ongoing. Sgt. Maj. Samuel McAllister, a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, died in January after another free-fall accident, in Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though specific causes for the accidents were not immediately available, U.S. Special Operations Command has for years been grappling with the risks associated with free-fall parachute jumps, in which a service member leaps from a plane and plummets for a short period of time before manually opening the chute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A review of accident investigations by Military Times found that training shortfalls and lapsed qualifications contributed to some of the deaths over the past decade, but that at least in some cases, the overconfidence of operators and trainers also played a part.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2017\/02\/04\/the-navy-seals-and-other-secretive-units-are-quietly-battling-a-frightening-rise-in-parachute-deaths\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/halo-jumper.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The Navy SEALs and other secretive units are quietly battling a frightening rise in parachute deaths<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The alarming trend within U.S. Special Operations Command has been blamed in part on training shortfalls and bravado.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBeing \u2018special\u2019 shouldn\u2019t be an excuse to cut corners or accept needless risk in either training or operations,\u201d a retired senior special operations officer told Military Times in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5616\" height=\"3744\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635741942238337810-august-3-frontlines-7jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102049\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635741942238337810-august-3-frontlines-7jpg.jpg 5616w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635741942238337810-august-3-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635741942238337810-august-3-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635741942238337810-august-3-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635741942238337810-august-3-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635741942238337810-august-3-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5616px) 100vw, 5616px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Paratroopers take seats on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter a Leapfest 2015 begins in West Kingstown, R.I., Aug. 1, 2015.  Leapfest is an International parachute competition hosted by the 56th Troop Command, Rhode Island National Guard to promote high level technical training and esprit de corps within the International Airborne community. (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Joshua Talley\/ Released)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several years ago, it was the SEALs who had clocked multiple deaths in a year. In 2017, it was down to one, a member of the elite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/05\/31\/fatal-seal-skydiving-accident-is-the-fifth-in-four-years-for-the-elite-unit\/\" target=\"_blank\">Leap Frogs<\/a> demonstration team who plummeted during a New York City fleet week exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And earlier in 2017, the Marine Corps suspended some of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/01\/23\/marine-killed-in-jump-incident-corps-suspends-double-bag-static-line-jumps\/\" target=_blank>static line jump ops<\/a> \u2015 when a line is hooked inside the aircraft and the force of a jump causes a parachute to immediately open \u2015 after a student died during a Multi-Mission Parachute Course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For its part, the Army\u2019s 2017 safety program assessment does not specifically call out improving airborne ops as a high priority, but mentions a program called the Parachute Suite of Sensors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe PSS will leverage current technology to recreate the sequence of jump operations events and be used for training, life cycle management, and mishap investigations,\u201d according to the assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/06\/14\/these-paratroopers-strap-on-sensors-during-field-ops-to-help-scientists-measure-performance\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/82nd-sensors-MASTR-E.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">These paratroopers strap on sensors during field ops to help scientists measure performance<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The study will yield data for analysis aimed at improving soldier lethality and performance.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In effect, it will act as a black box for parachute jumps, recording altitude, body position and deployment (or not) of a parachute and beyond. That way, rather than relying on witness statements, incident investigators could have some more precise data to analyze the narrative and cause of an accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAny time we lose one of America\u2019s sons or daughters in an accidental mishap, that\u2019s a grave concern to all commanders,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Farnsworth, then the head of the Army Combat Readiness Center, told the Fayetteville Observer in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Natick Soldier Research, Development &amp; Engineering Center was not able to provide an update on the program, other than to confirm that it is ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two Army special operators have died in jump accidents this year, up from recent years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":102048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,24,89,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3268],"class_list":["post-65480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FQKM6UKWLREGHMNDSV6K6OPAV4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2018\/08\/09\/after-a-brief-respite-special-operations-parachute-deaths-are-up-this-year\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>After a brief respite, special operations parachute deaths are up this year - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two Army special operators have died in jump accidents this year, up from recent years.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After a brief respite, special operations parachute deaths are up this year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two Army special operators have died in jump accidents this year, up from recent years.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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