news-record.com

FAYETTEVILLE (MCT) — Staff Sgt. Jamal Clay had jumped out of an aircraft 25 times before, always dropping safely to the ground.

But Saturday night, something went wrong. Clay, a 25-year-old paratrooper who survived two deployments to Iraq, fell 800 feet to his death at Fort Bragg's Sicily Drop Zone during what was supposed to have been a routine training exercise.

Clay's death remains under investigation, but early reports point to a parachute malfunction, according to a news release from the 82nd Airborne Division.

Clay, a married father of two from Elida, Ohio, was a vehicle recovery supervisor with Company G, 1st Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

He had last jumped from an airplane four days earlier, on June 21, as part of a 10-day training exercise that simulates traditional airborne operations, such as an assault on a drop zone or airfield.

"Staff Sergeant Jamal Clay was the best paratrooper in the company. Everybody wanted to be like him," said Capt. Luke Bird, Clay's company commander. "He was a natural leader and a skilled mechanic who made the whole battalion better."

As part of the exercise Saturday evening, Clay was one of 1,700 paratroopers scheduled to jump into Sicily Drop Zone. Clay and other soldiers were to seize and secure the drop zone so troops who followed could land safely.

Humvees and other large vehicles often are dropped from the sky in advance of paratroopers. Clay and other mechanics would have been on hand to repair any damage to those vehicles, said Sgt. 1st Class Alan Davis, an 82nd Airborne Division spokesman.

It was a standard night jump, 800 feet high with a static line attached to the plane that opens the parachute after a soldier exits.

New parachute used

Clay was carrying a gun and his rucksack. He was wearing the Army's new T-11 parachute, his third jump with it. The new square canopy is supposed to reduce injuries by creating a slower, more controlled descent.

Testing of the parachute showed a 70 percent drop in injuries compared with the last Army parachute, the T-10.

The T-11 parachutes were first used on Fort Bragg in December 2009. By 2014, the 82nd Airborne Division will have 14,000 of them.

Clay is the first 82nd Airborne soldier to die using the new parachute.

Lt. Col. Dave Connolly, a division spokesman, said it's too soon to question the safety of the T-11 parachute.

"Jumping out of airplanes is inherently dangerous ... no matter what parachute is being used," Connolly said in an e-mail. "It would be very premature to voice concerns about that specific parachute based upon this one incident."

Skydiving deaths rare

Skydiving fatalities during training at Fort Bragg have been rare in recent years.

The last airborne training death at Fort Bragg happened in 2006. In that incident, Capt. Nathaniel L. King apparently hit his head after landing and died the next day.

On July 24, 2001, Staff Sgt. Alexander E. Gessner died after his reserve parachute deployed inside a C-130 and forced him out the door during a nighttime jump. Gessner was an 82nd Airborne Division jumpmaster.

An investigation found that he failed to maintain a proper position in the open door of the plane.

The division's last fatality blamed on a parachute malfunction happened in 1999, said Davis, the division spokesman.

Paratroopers are meticulous about safety, Davis said.

Before every jump, jumpmasters who are experts in parachuting walk troops through each step, from entering the plane through exiting the back door.

"Whenever you have to jump out of an airplane, there's high risk involved," he said.

The U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center and 82nd Airborne Division are conducting a safety investigation into Clay's death.

About half of the 1,700 paratroopers who were scheduled to jump did so Saturday before the emergency ended the training for the night, Davis said. Slightly more than 10 of those troops were injured during the jump, but all except Clay returned to work after seeing a medic. The 10-day exercise resumed Sunday and is scheduled to end today.

Clay, who joined the Army in 2004, is survived by his wife, Jasmine Clay, and two children, Jamier Brown, 6, and Janye McKenzie, 2.

The division plans to hold a memorial for Clay later this week.

"Staff Sergeant Jamal Clay was a tremendous airborne leader and role model for Paratroopers. His personal discipline, high standards, and genuine teamwork set the example for the rest of the battalion," said Lt. Col. John Rafferty, commander of 1st Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment. "His contributions to the battalion, during two combat deployments to Iraq and one Global Response Force mission cycle, have been enormous."