Unplanned parachute stunt led to death of Red Devils display team member, coroner rules

The sergeant major of the British Army’s Red Devils parachute display team plummeted to his death after becoming entangled with another jumper in an unplanned manoeuvre, a coroner has concluded.

Dean Walton, 36, from Gosport died at an aerodrome in Seville, Spain, on 14 October 2022 after colliding with Nirmal Purja mid-air during a training jump, Winchester Coroner’s Court heard on Tuesday.

The Afghanistan veteran’s parachute canopy collapsed during an attempt to form an unplanned canopy stacking manoeuvre, coroner Jason Pegg said.

Footage captured on a GoPro by Mr Walton showed him jumping from the plane and descending on Nepalese mountaineer Mr Purja, who had also activated his parachute before he became entangled at around 3,000ft and crash landed.

Mr Purja, who gave evidence in person at the inquest, said Mr Walton “probably wanted to show off and stand on top of my canopy”.

He said the “brutal reality” was that Mr Walton endangered his life by descending upon his parachute.

“I could have also died,” he said.

The Special Boat Service veteran said the plan was a “freefall basic jump, freefall drills” before they would “cut away for a deployment of canopies and landing”.

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Concluding misadventure, Mr Pegg said: “Nirmal Purja, I have found to be a very credible witness. It does seem to me it’s more likely than not it was not the plan for Dean to land on top of Nirmal Purja’s canopy.

“And when Dean attempted that it had the consequences of his parachute collapsing and him suddenly plummeting to his death.”

He said Mr Walton had become entangled in parachute lines which he could not free himself from, and subsequently “suffered catastrophic injuries” when he struck the ground.

Mr Walton and Mr Purja had first met a week before the incident, and had been doing 12 to 14 jumps a day to practice their skills, the inquest heard.

The inquest also heard evidence via video link from parachute instructor Victor Grande, who arrived at the scene soon after the fatal incident.

He said: “When I arrived to the scene of the accident there was several people around Mr Dean, including Mr Nirmal, who was on his knees crying – but there was no emergency services yet.”