A woman in her 30s tragically died in a skydiving tragedy this weekend but her death has not been the only one of its kind to strike the same area in recent years.
The unidentified woman was killed in a freak accident at a farm near Peterlee, in County Durham, but this has been the third deadly skydiving incident to hit the area in the past nine years. Emergency services rushed to Wreford’s Farm in Shotton Colliery, on Sunday morning, but despite their desperate efforts the skydiver was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other skydivers came to their tragic deaths near Peterlee after they crashed to the ground in 2016 and 2024.
This weekends victim – whose jump was organised by SkyHigh Skydiving Peterlee – is believed to have been with two other people during her skydiving trip who intended to land at an airfield base nearby the village. The Durham Constabulary said her death was not being treated as suspicious.
A statement from SkyHigh Skydiving Peterlee paid tribute to the victim and called her a “valued member of our community” but said “all indications from the Police and British Skydiving are that this was out of the control of SkyHigh Skydiving Peterlee”.
The company added: “This heart-breaking news has deeply affected all who knew her, and our thoughts are with her family and friends as they face this unimaginable loss. At this incredibly difficult time, we ask for privacy and compassion for those grieving.”
Despite this, the SkyHigh Skydiving Peterlee company was hit with a previous horrific tragedy when a videographer harrowingly plunged to his death on April 28, 2024. Sam Cornwell, 46, died after his parachute malfunctioned and failed to open during his fall.
Sam, from Hampshire, landed on a roof at South West Industrial Estate near Peterlee and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. An inquest, at Crook Civic Centre, found his main canopy had opened but was twisted, rendering it useless, and the reserve shoot failed to deploy properly in time.
He had been filming another skydiver when he died and shocking CCTV footage caught the moment he struck the roof. Jan Bostock, a senior environmental health officer with Durham County Council, who had watched the footage taken on Mr Cornwell’s helmet-mounted camera said: “We have got the imagery of the person he is being paid to take the video of. They appear to shoot off, when it is actually their descent that is slowing.”
SkyHigh Skydiving had said: “We are all deeply saddened by the loss of a close friend, colleague and talented member of our team, our skydiving family.”
Another skydiver crashed onto a parked car in a housing estate following a jump from Peterlee Parachute Centre in 2016. Pamela Gower, 49, from Hebburn, South Tyneside, died after she was unable to deploy her parachute because she was aggressively spinning in the wind.
Pamela, who had dwarfism, died because she was too short to carry out a move that would have saved her life, an inquest heard. The 49-year-old was spinning so hard she was exposed to greater G-force than a fighter pilot as she plummeted to the ground.
The experienced skydiver was unable to arch her back which could have helped her regain control during the fall. Senior Coroner Andrew Tweddle said: “So what we have is exceptional circumstances affecting a diver who is partially trained and because of her unique stature that made it difficult for her to recover through the arching technique. It is a combination of things all going wrong at the same time that led to the fatal outcome of this situation.”
Instructor Michelle Meakins told the inquest Pamela had wind tunnel training, designed to help her cope in a spin but the speed with which she fell had prevented her saving herself as she lost consciousness.
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