Army Sgt arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after skydive wife's parachute fails
Victoria Cilliers, 39, suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken leg and spinal injuries when both her main and reserve chutes failed to work properly during a solo jump on Easter Sunday
British Army sergeant arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after his wife's parachute failed to open when skydiving Photo: Pixel8000
By Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent
12:33PM BST 10 May 2015
A British Army sergeant has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after his skydiving wife’s parachute failed, sending her hurtling to the ground.
Victoria Cilliers, 39, suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken leg and spinal injuries when both her main and reserve chutes failed to work properly during a solo jump on Easter Sunday.
Her South African-born husband, Emile, who is an instructor with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, was arrested after police were alerted to the possibility her parachute could have been sabotaged, the Mail on Sunday reported.
Vital parts of the parachute known as slinks were found to be missing after the incident at Netheravon airfield on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. The slinks, or soft links, connect the canopy to the parachute harness, but were found to be missing from the parachutes. Without them a parachute cannot function properly.
Emile Cilliers has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder (Enterprise News and Pictures)
Police have said it was a miracle Mrs Cilliers survived. The experienced skydiver jumped from a Cessna Caravan light aircraft at 4,000ft and deployed her first parachute at 3,000ft. Sections did not unfold and she was sent into a spin, known as “going down the plughole”.
She pulled her reserve chute, but that also malfunctioned. She was able to slow her descent and avoid a road, but still hit a field at an estimated 30mph.
She was taken to hospital by helicopter and spent three weeks there.
Experts from the Army Parachuting Association and the British Parachute Association have investigated the very rare double malfunction.
DI Paul Franklin of Wiltshire Police, said: “This woman would have been dead if her chute hadn’t partially opened, this meant her descent was slowed enough for her to survive the fall. However, we were alerted to concerns over what had happened by the parachute club and as a result instigated an investigation.
“In particular, we are looking for ‘slinks’ that were missing from the parachute which may have been removed and discarded somewhere.
"This woman survived this fall miraculously but despite her experience she very nearly lost her life. “
Mrs Cilliers told friends that Emile, who is attached to the Royal Engineers, had moved out of the home they shared in Amesbury, Wiltshire, with their children, Lily, three, and newborn son Ethan. The couple wed in South Africa in 2011.
Police confirmed a 35-year-old man had been arrested and bailed.
Airfield sources told the Mail on Sunday Mrs Cilliers had not been able to use her personal parachute on the day because it had not been unpacked and inspected within the last six months, as rules require, so borrowed a parachute from the stores at Netheravon.
Her husband signed out an Army parachute from the storeroom at the airfield on his wife's behalf on Easter Saturday, the day before the incident, according to sources, though police have not confirmed this.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.
