Inquest Opened into Death of Woman at UK Skydiving Center

An inquest has been opened into the death of Madeleine Trask, a 22-year-old woman who died following an incident at Langar Airfield in Nottinghamshire on July 5. The hearing was told Ms. Trask suffered a head injury.

Karen Boyle, Assistant Coroner for Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire, adjourned the inquest to a date to be fixed and offered condolences to Ms. Trask's family and friends. The court heard no further details surrounding her death during the brief hearing at Nottingham Coroner’s Court.

According to social media, Ms. Trask had worked at Skydive Langar, based at the airfield, as a parachute packer for three-and-a-half years. She was also a former President of the University of Nottingham’s Skydiving club. She had attended Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire.

Nottinghamshire Police had previously stated that officers were called to Langar at 12:13 p.m. on July 5 after a 22-year-old woman died in a skydiving incident near Langar Airfield. The force reported the woman was found in a nearby field and pronounced dead at the scene. Ms. Trask was identified to a police officer at 1:54 p.m.

Langar Airfield, a former Royal Air Force station, has been home to Skydive Langar since 1977. The center is described as the busiest civilian skydiving center in the UK, facilitating over 50,000 jumps annually. The company stated in July that the fatal incident involved an "experienced skydiver" and that they were "devastated by this tragic loss."

British Skydiving, which regulates the activity on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority, launched an investigation following the tragedy. A local farmer reported that a skydiver landed in a field across Harby Road from the airfield. Residents noted that numerous skydives had been completed earlier in the day before the incident occurred shortly after midday.

A post-mortem examination provisionally determined the cause of death as a head injury, according to the coroner.