Here's why coroner has ruled British Skydiving must share report into Peterlee parachute jump fatality
An accident report into the death of a videographer who died during a parachute jump will be disclosed to investigators despite objections from British Skydiving, a coroner has ruled.
Sam Cornwell, 46, from Hampshire, was skydiving near Shotton airfield in County Durham in April 2024 when his main parachute failed to open properly.
He suffered critical injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene at South West Industrial Estate near Peterlee.
An inquest hearing in Crook, County Durham, centred on the issue of disclosure of British Skydiving’s 106-page report into the incident which was produced by a five-member board of inquiry after speaking to witnesses.
Marc Asquith, representing British Skydiving’s insurers at the hearing, objected to the unredacted report being disclosed to the inquest’s interested parties – which includes Durham County Council, who are investigating the death.
Mr Asquith argued that witnesses were not warned about the possibility of self-incrimination when they voluntarily spoke to the sport’s governing body.
He said allowing prosecuting authorities to see their unredacted evidence could undermine the close-knit community’s confidence in giving honest answers to any future inquiries.
Mr Asquith said: “You will find people saying ‘I’m not answering your questions because I cannot rely on you to keep it confidential’.
“That’s not in the public interest.”
Sam Faulks, representing Durham County Council, said British Skydiving was “arguing for a closed shop” and inquiries made by the local authority would assist the inquest.
Asked how much progress the county council’s environmental health team had made in their investigation, Mr Faulks said they had been “met with a wall of objections from British Skydiving”.
Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield ruled that the unredacted report should be disclosed to the interested parties, namely the county council and Leni Boudewijn, who is the mother of Mr Cornwell’s children.
He asked for the county council to give an update on its investigations at a further hearing on April 8, with the aim of setting a final inquest date if possible.