Parachutist crashes into spectator: woman hospitalised (video)
An RAF parachutist crashed into a spectator at Weston Air Festival in Somerset this weekend, severely injuring an 82-year old spectator.
The woman was airlifted to hospital with a suspected broken pelvis while the parachutist, part of the RAF Falcons team, received treatment for minor injuries.
The collision was captured on video by spectator Sean Maddox as well as the organisers of the event.
The incident happened on Marine Parade in Weston-super-Mare, after the parachutist overshot the drop zone while he was coming in to land.
An air ambulance attended the scene, assisted by police cadets who cleared a space for it to land, and took both people to hospital.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "Neither have life-threatening injuries and the parachutist has since left hospital.
"There will be liaison between various agencies to ensure an appropriate investigation into the incident takes place."
The RAF Falcons is the only centrally funded professional military parachute display team in the UK.
The Bristol Post reports that display parachuting is one of the most difficult types of parachuting: once the parachutists leave the aircraft they immediately begin the freefall phase of the display and they reach 120mp within 20 seconds, which is when the parachute cord is pulled.
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