Wingsuit flyer Nicolas Galy was decapitated by a plane’s wing moments after jumping from the craft over the countryside in southern France.
Gary was an aeronautical engineer and veteran skydiver at 14,400 feet.
The incident has been at the center of a manslaughter trial against Alain C, a pilot of a single-engine aircraft and an employee of a local parachuting school. Alain could face a 12-month suspended prison sentence if found guilty.
Alain’s aircraft carried Galy, another wingsuit flyer and several parachutists. After dropping off his passengers, Alain started to descend relatively quickly, which was when the wingsuit flyers completed their free falls and began suit gliding. This was when the aircraft struck and killed Galy.
A camera on the second wingsuit flyer filmed the collision. Officials are using the recording in the investigation.
The pilot and wingsuit flyers did not disclose their planned trajectories with each other. “Compared with parachutists who are in free fall, it’s more complicated with the wingsuiters who go more in a straight line. They don’t descend much and can be in conflict with the aircraft,” Alain C told the Montauban, France, court.
Alain C also said he is not to blame for Galy’s death. Despite this, Alain C’s flying license came with a medical restriction that didn’t allow him to fly alone.
The verdict of the case is likely to be announced on November 21.
