Army ranger killed by freak parachute accident after cords wrapped round his neck when routine jump went wrong

• 1st Battalion soldier knocked unconscious and dragged on routine jump
• Fellow soldiers cut him free but could not revive him on Georgia airbase

An army ranger was killed in a freak parachute accident after the cords became wrapped around his neck during a routing training jump in Georgia.
The soldier, who has not yet been named, was dragged 350ft by his parachute after the wind caught it as he prepared to land at Fort Stewart in Savannah.
Members of his regiment rushed to the ranger's aid, cutting away the cords and harness that had wrapped round his neck, but they were unable to revive him after the accident on Thursday afternoon.

Exercise: Ranger troops stationed at Hunter Air Base take part in regular parachute jumps for training

'We're not sure what caused the parachute to do this,' Lieutenant Colonel Brian DeSantis, the spokesman for the Rangers, at Fort Benning, said. 'It's something we've never seen before.'
The 1st Battalion ranger, who had been stationed at Hunter Army Airfield, had been on a routine training exercise.

 

Elite soldiers at the base take part in parachute training jumps several times a year, according to The Journal Times.
'This was a very routine proficiency jump. It was not part of a training exercise or anything. It was just jumping to practice jumping, something we do routinely. So, this is something that’s out of the ordinary for us,' Lieutenant Colonel DeSantis, who has a long service history with airborne units, said.
The army is investigating what caused the accident and whether he became tangled up in his harness before or after landing.

Inquiry: A spokesman from the Ranger's Fort Benning base says the regiment is investigating the accident

It is possible the ranger was knocked unconscious after landing and then became twisted in his parachute as he was dragged along the ground.
'We don’t have evidence that the parachute malfunctioned, Lieutenant Colonel DeSantis told Savannah Now. 'It’s not a case where the parachute didn’t deploy. We don’t know if the Ranger was knocked unconscious during the descent or when he landed.'
A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out on the man, whose name has been withheld until his relatives are contacted..