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March 30th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
It was the third fatal accident in five years at the special forces facility,
where Seals – their acronym standing for Sea, Air, Land – undergo parachute
training and high-altitude freefall training.
In 2008, two Seals were killed in separate accidents two months apart – the
first when Senior Chief Petty Officer Lance Vaccaro’s parachute failed to
deploy and entangled him as he plummeted at 130mph. An investigation later
concluded that the 35-year-old’s death was the result of poor body
positioning, coupled with the “high risk nature” of the exercise.
Three weeks after the accident, Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas Valentine,
37, was killed when his parachute malfunctioned and sent him spinning to the
ground.
Among the recommendations issued in the wake of the double tragedy was a
clause that future training jumps should be filmed. It is not known whether
Thursday’s incident was captured on video. A military investigation is under
way.
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