An RAF parachutist who was in charge of checking skydivers' equipment as part of his job yesterday plunged more than 1,000 metres (3,500ft) to his death as his colleagues watched in horror.
The 28-year-old man, who has not been named, died after jumping from a plane above an airfield in Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire.

The man, a member of the RAF Sports Parachuting Association Club, based at RAF Brize Norton, Oxon, suffered numerous injuries in the accident and had a major heart attack as paramedics struggled to save his life. He was rushed by ambulance from the airfield to John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, where he was certified dead on arrival.

Squadron Leader David Roe, a spokesman for RAF Brize Norton, said: "He was an experienced parachutist. He worked as a safety equipment maintenance engineer. At this stage I have no idea what happened and a full inquiry into all the circumstances has been launched".

RAF Weston-on-the-Green, which is a popular skydiving centre for civilians and services staff, has been the scene of a number of parachuting accidents, several of them fatal.

The tragedy came a day after another parachutist died after plunging to the ground above an airfield at Hinton-in-the Hedges, near Brackley, Northants. The 64-year-old man, on his ninth skydive, was critically injured after getting into difficulties and hitting the ground at 30mph. He was airlifted to hospital but later died.

These are both terrible losses.

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