On 2 October 2026, shortly before half past nine in the morning, a parachutist fell onto a meadow between the municipalities of Klatovy and Točník, near the Klatovy airport.[3] The man was fifty-one years old, and according to Novinky.cz an experienced parachutist with hundreds of jumps.[1]*

Rescuers' response

All rescue services, including an air ambulance helicopter, were dispatched to the scene.[3] Paramedics performed extended cardiopulmonary resuscitation on site, but the man succumbed to his injuries and a doctor pronounced him dead.[1][3] Martin Štěpán, spokesman for the regional ambulance service, stated that despite every effort the patient's vital functions could not be restored.[1][3]

Investigation

The circumstances of the accident are being investigated by Klatovy criminal police, as police spokesman Michal Schön stated.[1][3] The case is also being examined by inspectors of the Ústav pro odborné zjišťování leteckých nehod. According to the institute's deputy director Josef Bejdák, a problem with the lines of the main parachute probably occurred during the jump, as a result of which the parachutist went into uncontrolled rotation and fell quickly to the ground without activating the reserve parachute.[1]

Context

The Klatovy airport is popular among parachutists, and foreign visitors also make jumps there.[3] According to Plzeňská Drbna, this was not the first similar accident near the airport in 2026; in mid-May a thirty-four-year-old man died there during a jump over a water surface, whom witnesses were unable to resuscitate despite a quick intervention.[3]

Chronology

  • — A parachutist fell near Klatovy, close to the local airfield. Novinky.cz iDNES.cz

Sources

  1. Novinky.cz — 2 October 2026
  2. iDNES.cz — 2 October 2026
  3. Plzeňská Drbna — 2 October 2026