Staff Sergeant Chris Good was representing Great Britain at the 10th World Canopy Piloting Championships in Pretoria when the incident occurred on Wednesday, September 25.
The 52-year-old had a remarkable career, completing 5,500 jumps after joining the Parachute Regiment at the age of 17. He was previously a member of the Army’s elite Red Devils parachute display team before joining the SAS in 2004, where he served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Details surrounding Sgt. Good’s death remain unclear, but the SAS confirmed that he passed away during the competition, which features events in speed, freestyle, and distance categories.
Just last month, he had shared that he was using a new harness designed to enhance distance and speed. In a video released by British Skydiving, the governing body of the sport, he noted that he had been competing in canopy piloting for a decade.
“The challenge for this year is that I’ve moved on to a new harness for distance and speed,” he said. “This is my first chance to test it over water, learning how it changes everything we’ve been doing for the past eight or nine years in a conventional harness.”
British Skydiving expressed deep sorrow over his passing, describing him as a “cherished member of the team and an exceptionally skilled skydiver,” whose loss “will be profoundly felt within our sport.”
Skydive Netheravon, the base for the Army’s parachute association, also released a statement mourning the loss of their instructor and friend, Chris Good, extending thoughts and prayers to his family and friends during this challenging time.
A letter from the SAS Association communicated the news of Sgt. Good’s death to its members: “We are saddened to report the passing of Christopher (Chris) Good on September 25, 2024, while participating in the World Canopy Piloting Championships in Pretoria. He came to 22 SAS from 3 Para, passing SAS selection in 2004, and served in 2 Troops A Squadron and E Squadron (22 SAS).”
