21 September 2023 , 14:07
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A daredevil wearing a wingsuit was decapitated moments after jumping from a plane at 14,000ft, a court heard.
Nicolas Galy, 40, was one of a group of ten parachutists taking part in the stunt in July 2018. Disaster struck just seconds into his jump over Bouloc-en-Quercy, France, when the plane, piloted by Alain C, descended around 10,000 ft and fatally struck the daredevil with one of the wings, shearing his head off in the process.
Speaking in court where he faces manslaughter charges, the pilot insisted he had not done anything wrong in the tragedy and instead blamed the victim, claiming he behaved “recklessly”. He told proceedings he could not see the pain in wingsuits and believed they were clear of his aircraft.
According to the Times, he said: “They don’t descend much and can be in conflict with the aircraft. He was parallel to the plane and I thought he was further north. It wasn’t my responsibility. I think my flight path made sense. This has been the tragedy of my life but I am not at fault.”
Proceedings were told Alain C had flown without a valid licence after having his flight privileges owing to a medical condition. Prosecutors asked for him to receive a 12-month suspended prison term and a 10,000 euro (£8,500)fine. An earlier inquiry into the tragedy blamed it on several aspects including the immediate steep ascent, a failure to brief those in wingsuits and inadequate procedures used by the French Parachute Federation. A verdict on the incident will be made in November.
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Earlier this year a British base jumper wearing a wingsuit fell to his death from an Italian mountain top. Mark Andrews lost his left after plunging more than 400 metres down a rock face in Trentino, Italy, on Saturday. The 65-year-old was originally from Redruth in Cornwall but had been living in Bucharest, Romania, with his wife. He was a thrill-seeker and keen base jumper, but was killed instantly while at the popular jumping spot in the Italian Dolomites.
Mr Andrews was wearing his wing suit at the time, and it's thought he was wearing a parachute, but it was unclear if he was able to deploy it. The English-born man had ventured to the site on his own, but it was another base jumper who rang the emergency services after witnessing the incident. According to Italian media reports, another British base jumper died at the exact same spot the same day last year.