An experienced Australian paratrooper has died following a mid-air collision during training at Jervis Bay airfield on Monday evening. The soldier, Special Air Service regiment warrant officer Lachlan Muddle, 50, collided with another paratrooper after their parachutes had deployed, according to the Defence Department.
Major General Garth Gould told reporters on Tuesday that the incident occurred a few hundred feet above the ground in low-light conditions. Both paratroopers were highly experienced, with several thousand jumps between them, and were wearing night-vision goggles at the time. 'After the collision, both soldiers fell from height,' Gould said.
The second soldier, a sergeant from the Australian Defence Force's parachute school, survived with minor injuries and provided immediate first aid to Muddle. He did not require hospitalisation and is recovering. Defence Minister Richard Marles said it appeared the parachutes became tangled after the impact, and paid tribute to Muddle's 30-year career, including five deployments and service in Afghanistan as an 'expert sniper'.
The training was part of a six-week advanced freefall course, with soldiers jumping from a civilian commercial aircraft leased by the military. In response, the ADF has paused all personnel parachuting operations nationwide pending an investigation. This is the second parachute training death in two years, following the death of soldier Jack Fitzgibbon in March 2024 at RAAF base Richmond.
