A highly-skilled Australian Army paratrooper has died during a training exercise at the Jervis Bay Airfield on the New South Wales South Coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Warrant Officer Class Two Lachlan Muddle, 50, from the Special Air Service Regiment, was killed when he fell to the ground after a mid-air collision with another paratrooper at about 5:40pm yesterday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Australian Army Special Operations Commander Major General Garth Gould\u00a0said Warrant Officer Muddle had been assisting a specialist parachute training activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“After successfully opening their parachutes, what we know about the incident is that both paratroopers collided several hundred feet above the ground whilst they were manoeuvring towards the drop zone,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“After the collision, both soldiers fell from height.”<\/p>\n
The other paratrooper, a sergeant from the Australian Defence Force Parachute School, survived the fall with minor injuries.<\/p>\n
“Both paratroopers were highly skilled. Between the two of them, they had several thousand jumps to their credit,” Major General Gould said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Warrant Officer Muddle joined the Army in 1994, and served the majority of his time in Special Operations Command’s Special Air Service Regiment.<\/p>\n
A highly regarded, skilled professional\u00a0<\/p>\n
Major General Gould said he was a highly qualified special forces sniper and military free-fall parachutist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“He was highly regarded within our community, a skilled professional, and he’ll be remembered for his sense of humour and his genuine and deep commitment to serving the nation,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Warrant Officer Muddle’s death had been “very deeply and immediately felt”, Major General Gould said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Our priority at the moment is supporting Warrant Officer Muddle’s family and also providing support to the ADF members involved in the incident last night, as well as supporting the initial investigative matters,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All personnel parachuting operations have been paused pending an investigation into the accident.<\/p>\n
Major General Gould said the incident happened during low-light conditions, and those involved in the training were using night vision goggles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There are a number of investigations that are immediately underway here, and we need to let them unfold,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This was a mid-air collision between two experienced paratroopers. And apart from that, we’re just going to have to let the details of that be further unpicked by the investigations.”<\/p>\n
Warrant Officer Muddle’s death is the second parachute-related death in as many years.<\/p>\n