An investigation into the March 2015 death of a Navy SEAL during parachute training blames errors made by supervisors, in addition to the relative inexperience of the 29-year-old Coronado SEAL who was killed.

Jason Kortz was attending follow-on parachute training in Southwest Riverside County when his main parachute got tangled during a high-altitude jump with combat gear.

Kortz’s body position was wrong -- he was facing up instead of down -- upon his exit from the aircraft, according to a Naval Special Warfare command investigation released this month following a Freedom of Information Act request.

Kortz deployed his reserve chute, but it also became hopelessly tangled and never caught air, leaving him to plummet to his death.


The top Navy SEAL, Rear Adm. Brian Losey, called Kortz’s loss a preventable training accident and directed the command’s lawyers to look into possible disciplinary action for those involved.

“Risk management decisions permitted Special Operator 3rd Class Kortz, an inexperienced parachutist, to participate in a complex jump before he was ready to safely do so,” Losey wrote in his comments on the investigation.

“Controls intended to reduce the risk were ineffective. Specifically, personnel did not adhere to air operations procedures, unauthorized equipment was worn, authorized equipment was improperly fit, and jumpers lacked adequate knowledge of emergency actions,” the Naval Special Warfare Command leader concluded.

On Tuesday, a SEAL spokeswoman in Coronado said a review board of experts decided that there was no dereliction of duty and therefore punishment wasn’t appropriate. But some SEALs involved received administrative actions -- a lesser form of discipline that may not necessarily affect their careers.


The review board found “there was no single cause or one person responsible for the incident. While in hindsight, there are things that can and have been improved, at the time the actions and decisions were responsible and reasonable,” a Naval Special Warfare Group One statement said.

SEAL officials said the course has been changed to include a more gradual progression toward difficult jumps. They also added more practice time in a wind tunnel, so students can simulate jump profiles in a controlled environment.

Finally, they launched a standardized assessment of all parachutists to make sure everyone meets certain levels of proficiency before advancing.

Kortz, who earned his SEAL trident in September 2014 and was a member of SEAL Team 1, had already passed the naval parachute course, which consists of 25 jumps, without any sign of problem.


During the fatal jump, he and his fellow SEALs were wearing full combat gear, including a weapon, night-vision goggles, body armor and a rucksack. Kortz also carried communications equipment.

Kortz was also wearing unauthorized gear -- sunglasses and a helmet -- and his equipment wasn’t fitted to him properly, leading the SEAL command to conclude that inspections by jump masters were not effective.

Officials in Coronado said Tuesday that improper gear fit may have contributed to instability in the air, and that made it difficult to safely deploy his parachute.

jen.steele@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @jensteeley