1 of 1 Nicolas Galy was a wingsuit practitioner and was hit in midair shortly after jumping from the plane. — Photo: Getty Images via BBC Nicolas Galy was a wingsuit practitioner and was thrown into the air moments after jumping from the plane. — Photo: Getty Images via BBC
A French pilot has been banned from flying after decapitating a parachutist with an airplane wing.
Nicolas Galy, 40 years old, was a wingsuit practitioner and was struck in midair in July 2018 shortly after jumping from the plane.
The unidentified pilot was found guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday (21) and given a suspended sentence by the Montauban Criminal Court. That means he can remain free if it meets a number of conditions set by the court.
The Association of Skydiving Schools of the MidiPyrénées region, which hired the pilot, was fined 20,000 euros (R$106,000). According to the French press, half of this amount, 10,000 euros (R$53,000), has been suspended.
According to Le Parisien, the plane’s pilot began descending toward the airfield’s runway immediately after takeoff. Before the parachutist jumped out of the plane, there was no agreement about the plane’s flight path, the newspaper said.
Citing a Sept. 19 hearing, the victim’s family’s attorney, Emmanuelle Franck, complained of what she called “a lot of recklessness or negligence.”
The president of the court that judged the case also emphasized this lack of communication between victim and pilot.
Since the incident, security measures have been tightened and briefings between pilots and parachutists have become mandatory, the report in the newspaper Le Parisien added.
While landing at Recife airport, the tail of the plane hit the runway