A 49-year-old man died Saturday at Dunkeswell Aerodrome in Devon, England, while participating in a skydive, according to Devon and Cornwall Police. Emergency services responded to concerns for the welfare of the skydiver shortly before 1:00 PM GMT and confirmed the death at the scene. The man’s family has been notified.
The incident marks the second fatality at the airfield in less than a year. On June 13, 2025, skydiving instructor Adam Harrison, 30, and Belinda Taylor, 48, died when their parachute failed to open during a tandem jump from 15,000ft (4.6km), as reported by the BBC and the Daily Mail. Taylor was participating in the skydive as a gift from her partner, Scott Armstrong, according to reporting by The Independent.
Devon and Cornwall Police stated that inquiries are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding Saturday’s death. The Dunkeswell Aerodrome, a former Royal Air Force site, is located in the Blackdown Hills, near the border of Somerset. This proves currently licensed as the highest airfield in the UK, at 839ft (256m) above sea level, and offers activities including Spitfire flight tours, wing-walking, and flight training in addition to skydiving.
Following the June 2025 incident, the skydiving company responsible for the tandem jump entered administration, according to the BBC. An inquest into the deaths of Harrison and Taylor has been opened and adjourned, with investigations continuing by both police and British Skydiving, as reported by the Falmouth Packet. Harrison, from Bournemouth, was training to be a chiropractor at the time of his death.
Armstrong described Taylor as a “selfless” mother of four, who had recently welcomed his nine-year-old son into her family. He recounted witnessing the initial moments of the June 2025 tragedy, observing through binoculars as Taylor and Harrison jumped from the plane and noticing that one parachute did not deploy. He rushed to the landing area and found both skydivers deceased.
