Soldier dies, another injured in parachute accident
A soldier has died and another has been injured following a parachuting training accident at an Australian Defense Force airport.
The Department of Defense confirmed the Australian military member died during a training course at Jervis Bay Airport, 200km east of Canberra, on Monday evening.
Another soldier was also injured in the incident but did not require hospitalization.
The identities and ages of the soldiers involved in the incident were not disclosed.
“At this time, we request that the privacy of Defense members and their families be respected,” the department said in a statement Tuesday.
The death was the first in a parachuting accident since Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon, son of former federal minister Joel Fitzgibbon, died during a training incident at RAAF Base Richmond, northwest of Sydney, in March 2024.
Corporal Fitzgibbon’s death led to an investigation by the Ministry of Defense and the suspension of parachute training activities for two months.
The last active service member to die in any incident was in October 2025, when an M113 armored personnel carrier rolled over during a training exercise west of Townsville.
After the incident, two other soldiers were taken to hospital with relatively minor injuries but were released.
In August 2021, two soldiers were also killed when a truck overturned south of Townsville.
The department was charged with violating federal occupational health and safety laws in September 2023 over the incident.
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