A French pilot who decapitated a skydiver with the wing of his plane in 2018 has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and banned from flying for one year. The unnamed pilot was handed a 12-month suspended sentence on Tuesday in connection with the death of Nicolas Galy, 40, who Fox News reports had successfully completed more than 225 jumps. Galy was one of two wingsuit skydivers who jumped from about 14,000 feet over the town of Bouloc-en-Quercy.
The court heard that the pilot began descending toward the tarmac immediately after the skydivers exited the plane. The Daily Beast reports the skydivers had finished their freefall and were gliding in their wingsuits when the plane caught up with them. Some 20 seconds into the jump, Galy was decapitated by the plane's left wing; his emergency chute deployed and his body ended up in a field.
The BBC cites Le Parisien in reporting that the group hadn't discussed the plane's intended trajectory. The pilot had reportedly told the court that during his descent he lost sight of the skydivers and assumed they were out of his path, noting Galy "did not follow the expected course and should never have been on that course." Per the Daily Beast, the pilot continued, "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. ... I think my flight path made sense. This has been the tragedy of my life but I am not at fault." (More skydiving accident stories.)
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