SAS hero died crashing into pond at high speed during world championship parachuting contest

A heroic SAS soldier died after falling into a pond while representing Great Britain in a global parachuting competition.

Staff Sergeant Chris Good, 52, passed away on September 25, 2024, after misjudged his parachute landing in Pretoria, South Africa.

The husband crashed into the edge of a ‘sudden pond’ and suffered injuries that ultimately cost him his life, an inquest heard in Hereford this week.

Good had joined the army’s parachute regiment when he was just 17, completing thousands of parachute jumps, but the crash was ruled to have been caused by his lack of experience landing in Pretoria, about 4,000ft above sea level.

British Skydiving’s Jeff Montgomery said: ‘Altitude above sea level has a huge impact on the way high-performance parachutes fly.

‘The higher you go, the thinner the air becomes. Thin air provides less drag and less lift; This changes how the parachute behaves from deployment to descent.

‘The video shows a high-speed descent of the parachute and appears to have an aggressive and steep dive towards the ground, which could lead to a longer recovery arc due to the parachute remaining in the dive longer.

‘This is not an unusual factor in high altitude locations.’

An inquest in Hereford this week heard the husband crashed into the edge of a ‘sudden pond’ and suffered injuries that eventually claimed his life.

During his time as a soldier, Good (pictured far left) served in the top-secret SAS E Squadron and was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

During his time as a soldier, Good served in the top-secret SAS E Squadron and was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

His wife, Sally Carvalho, told the hearing this week that skydiving was his ‘first love’.

‘He brought great happiness to many people,’ he said. ‘He used to be a tandem instructor and people wouldn’t get down to the ground without a smile on their face.

‘He was a security guard and didn’t take unnecessary risks. He wasn’t his type.”

British Skydiving paid tribute to Good with a touching post on Facebook following his death nearly two years ago.

It said: ‘Chris was representing Team GB at the 10th World Canopy Piloting Championships. He was a popular member of the team and an exceptionally talented paratrooper. His loss will be felt deeply in our sport.

‘We offer our sincerest condolences to Chris’s family and friends at this difficult time.’