Skydiver death report to be released in full
BBCA report into the death of a videographer during a parachute jump will be fully disclosed to investigators, a coroner has ruled.
Sam Cromwell, 46 and from Hampshire, was filming another skydiver at Shotton airfield in County Durham in April 2024 when his main parachute failed to open properly.
British Skydiving, the sport's governing body, had objected to its 106-page report being released in an unredacted form to other interested parties, including Durham County Council which is investigating the death.
But the objection was dismissed by coroner Jeremy Chipperfield at a hearing at Crook Civic Centre.
Marc Asquith, representing British Skydiving's insurers, argued witnesses had not been warned about the possibility of self-incrimination when they spoke voluntarily to the report's compilers.
Allowing prosecuting authorities to see their unredacted evidence could undermine the skydiving community's confidence in giving honest answers to any future inquiries, he said.
"You will find people saying, 'I'm not answering your questions because I cannot rely on you to keep it confidential'," he told the hearing.
"That's not in the public interest."
However, Sam Faulks, representing Durham County Council, said inquiries by the local authority would assist the inquest.
He said the council's environmental health team had been "met with a wall of objections from British Skydiving".
The coroner ruled the report should be disclosed to the council and Leni Boudewijn, the mother of Mr Cromwell's children.
A further hearing was set for 8 April for the council to give an update on its investigations, with the possible aim of setting a final inquest date.
