Overview
- Investigators released video and a final report on a Sept. 20 jump near Tully Airport showing a reserve handle snagging a wing flap and the canopy wrapping around a Cessna Caravan’s tail.
- The entanglement knocked a camera operator into freefall, 13 parachutists exited quickly, and two stayed in the doorway until the trapped jumper cut free.
- Dangling below the tail, the skydiver used a hook knife to sever 11 reserve lines in about 50 seconds, then deployed the main canopy and landed with minor injuries.
- The aircraft’s tail was substantially damaged, the pilot declared a mayday and reported limited control, yet managed a safe landing at Tully.
- The ATSB cited out‑of‑limits weight‑and‑balance and lack of pilot supplemental oxygen as risk factors, and the Far North Freefall Club and Australian Parachute Federation are introducing mandatory hook knives, stronger load procedures, and new loadmaster training using the footage.