Paratrooper killed in training accident at Fort Bragg

A paratrooper from recovers his parachute during an exercise at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg on Feb. 1, 2019. New legislation introduced in the House and Senate on Thursday would block President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military recruits. (Spc. Darius Knight-Elliott/Army)

An 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper was killed during a training accident Monday, the unit said in a brief press release.

The incident occurred during static-line jump training on Sicily Drop Zone at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, said division spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Burns.

It was not clear Monday afternoon whether the death was caused by a parachute malfunction or if the chute deployed and worked as intended before the paratrooper died.

A team from the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, is slated to head to Fort Bragg Tuesday to lead the investigation into the mishap.

Burns said more information, including the deceased paratrooper’s name and unit, will be released after their next of kin have been notified.

The 82nd Airborne Division also lost a paratrooper during jump training in mid-September, when Pfc. Jean Cruz De Leon, 20, experienced a parachute malfunction at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

The results of that mishap investigation have been requested through the Freedom of Information Act, but have not yet been released to Army Times.

About 

Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents.

Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.