A videographer died after his parachute failed to open as he was filming another skydiver, an inquest heard.
In April, Sam Cornell, a 46-year-old videographer who worked at British company Sky-High Skydiving, fell to his death in County Durham, U.K., after his parachute failed.
Cornell was skydiving near Shotton airfield last month when his parachute failed to open. The late videographer’s employer Sky-High Skydiving operates out of Shotton airfield.
It is understood that Cornell landed on a factory roof on South West Industrial Estate in Shotton. The videographer, who is originally from Godshill on the Isle of Wight, U.K., endured critical injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A preliminary inquest hearing into Cornell’s death was held at Crook Civic Centre in County Durham this week.
According to BBC News, an inquest heard that the videographer had been filming another skydiver during his fatal fall.
Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield heard from Jan Bostock, a senior environmental health officer with Durham County Council. Bostock says he had watched the footage taken on Cornwell’s helmet-mounted camera of the other parachutist.
The officer told the inquest that the videographer’s main canopy was deployed but it was twisted, but he did not yet know why. Bostock says that Cornwell’s reserve chute did not properly deploy either and further investigation was necessary.
BBC News reports that investigators are also seeking independent analysis of the altimeter, GoPro camera footage, as well as the other equipment used by Cornwell on the day. The case has been adjourned for a further hearing to assess progress of the case on January 14.
Cornell’s employer Sky-High Skydiving paid tribute to the videographer in a statement back in April.
“We are all deeply saddened by the loss of a close friend, colleague, and talented member of our team, our skydiving family,” Sky-High Skydiving says.
Last year, PetaPixel reported on a photographer, employed as a camera “flyer” at a skydiving company, who died after being critically injured during a routine jump.
The experienced camera operator, who was working for Skydive Mount Cook in New Zealand, is said to have encountered an unknown issue during his descent.
Image credits: Header photo via Facebook.