Experienced female skydiver suffered multiple serious injuries after plummeting 4,000 feet in the jump above Salisbury Plain last month

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman’s parachute failed to deploy during a skydive, leaving her to plummet 4,000 feet to the ground.

The experienced skydiver sustained multiple serious injuries and was lucky to avoid death during the routine jump above Salisbury Plain on 5 April, Wiltshire police said.



The main parachute failed to deploy and the 39-year-old was saved by her reserve parachute, which also failed but opened just enough to slow her descent from a fatal velocity.

Detectives said on Friday that “slinks” or soft links used to connect the canopy to the parachute harness were missing.

Police launched an investigation after being contacted by the parachute club at Netheravon airfield on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire the day after the incident. The arrested man, 35, has since been released on bail.

DI Paul Franklin said: “This woman would have been dead if her chute hadn’t partially opened, this meant her descent was slowed enough for her to survive the fall. However, we were alerted to concerns over what had happened by the parachute club and as a result instigated an investigation.”

He added: “In particular, we are looking for ‘slinks’ that were missing from the parachute which may have been removed and discarded somewhere. This woman survived this fall miraculously but despite her experience she very nearly lost her life.”

The woman was taken to Southampton general hospital for treatment and was now recovering at home, police said.

Franklin said police had spoken to many members of the parachute club, but still want any other witnesses to the incident to come forward.