In Sweden, 25 people have lost their lives in skydiving accidents since 2018, with the latest incident involving two men colliding mid-air near Strömstad. The Swedish Parachute Association highlights the severity of these accidents, including major crashes in Umeå and Örebro. Investigations reveal issues like safety lapses and equipment failures as contributing factors.
Tragic Skydive Statistics: 25 Fatalities in 7 Years in Sweden
Tragic Skydive Statistics: 25 Fatalities in 7 Years in Sweden
Including the recent fatal skydiving accident in Strömstad, 25 people have lost their lives in skydiving incidents in Sweden since 2018.
On Saturday, two men in their 30s and 40s died while skydiving in Näsinge, near Strömstad. After about a minute of free fall, they collided before deploying their parachutes.
"I have never experienced such a serious accident in my 20 years of skydiving," says Anna Oscarsson, Communications Manager at the Swedish Parachute Association.
Including the two who died on Saturday, 25 people have died in eight different skydiving accidents over the past seven years.
Of these, a total of 18 people died in the accidents in Umeå in 2019 and Örebro in 2021, when planes carrying skydivers crashed.
October 2024. A man in his 30s died in a skydiving accident at Johannisberg Airport outside Västerås. The jumper was described as very experienced, having completed 150 jumps in 2024 alone. The parachute deployed as it should, according to Sven Mörtberg of the Swedish Parachute Association after the accident.
"What we know is that he was flying under a fully deployed parachute. But then, before landing, he turned the canopy sharply, causing it to spiral downwards."
September 2022. A skydiver in his 30s died when he crash-landed on a rooftop in a residential area near Johannisberg Airport. The main parachute did not deploy as it should, and the reserve pilot chute line became entangled in his legs. According to the Swedish Parachute Association's investigation, the accident was due to the jumper deploying the reserve before disconnecting the main parachute.
August 2022. A man in his 40s died during a skydive at Johannisberg Airport. When the main parachute deployed, the steering handle detached, causing the suspension lines to twist. The reserve parachute did not deploy in time, and the man crashed into a wooded area.
May 2022. A skydiver in his 30s died when he crash-landed at Vårgårda Airport. The main parachute deployed but began to rotate at low altitude, and the reserve did not fully deploy.
July 2021. A plane with a pilot and eight skydivers crashed at Örebro Airport. Everyone on board died. The accident investigation pointed to several "safety lapses," where safety standards were compromised to achieve other goals. Among other things, the plane was loaded so that it became tail-heavy.
July 2019. A plane was about to drop eight skydivers at Umeå Airport when it suddenly began to dive at a 45-degree angle. The aircraft broke apart in the air due to speed and g-forces and crashed on the island of Storsandskär. The pilot and the eight jumpers died. The accident was likely due to low speed, a tail-heavy plane, weather conditions, and high workload relative to the pilot's experience.
April 2018. A 53-year-old skydiver died when he crashed on a paved bike path near Johannisberg Airport outside Västerås. A suspension line got caught, causing severe rotation. He was then unable to release the main parachute, preventing the reserve parachute from deploying as it should.