A French pilot has been banned from flying after the wing of his plane decapitated a skydiver in a horror accident.
On 27 July, 2018, Nicolas Galy was skydiving over Bouloc-en-Quercy near Toulouse, France, when he was struck in the air moments after jumping from the aircraft.
Galy, who was wearing a specially designed wingsuit with webbed areas, was killed instantly when the plane's wing struck his head at an altitude of 4,000m, fully decapitating him.
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His emergency parachute then opened, sending the rest of his body to the ground separately.
The 40-year-old was one of ten parachutists on the flight, it was reported.
The pilot of the aircraft, who has not been named, said the incident was ‘the tragedy of my life’ but went on to insist that he had not done anything wrong.
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In a court hearing earlier this year, the pilot said Galy ‘did not follow the expected course and never should have been on that course’.
Though prior to him jumping from the plane, there had been no consultation on the trajectory the plane would take once Galy had exited it, Le Parisien reported.
"He was parallel to the plane... It wasn't my responsibility, I think my flight path made sense," the pilot said. "This has been the tragedy of my life but I am not at fault."
The pilot also claimed he hadn’t seen the wingsuiters and thought he was clear of them.
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He said: "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."
On Tuesday (21 November), the pilot was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and given a suspended sentence by Montauban criminal court.
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He was also banned from flying.
The Midi-Pyrénées Skydiving School Association, which employed the pilot, has been fined €20,000 ($21,750), but half of that amount has been suspended, according to French media.
In a hearing earlier this year, a lawyer speaking on behalf of the victim’s loved ones said there had been ‘a lot of recklessness or negligence’.
Le Parisien has also reported that since the accident, security measures have been strengthened and briefings have become obligatory.
Topics: World News, Crime, Sport
Emily Puckering