Was Apparently Unconscious, Did Not Attempt To Open Chute

An investigation into an accident in which a Navy SEAL was fatally injured during a training parachute jump indicates that Petty Officer 1st Class William Blake Marston became unconscious shortly after exiting the airplane, but offers no explanation as to why he became unconscious.

Rear Adm. Brian Losey, the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command has endorsed the findings of the investigation. “We cannot identify why SO1 Marston was unable to operate his main chute," he wrote in his endorsement.

Marston's equipment was in good working order, according to the report. A witness said that it was clear that Marston never grabbed the chute handles. The medical review was redacted in the copy of the report obtained by The Virginia Pilot through a Freedom of Information Act request. But according to a medical officer, "there is no medical conclusion available that explains why SO1 Marston lost his ability to maintain stability and deploy his main parachute."

Marston was wearing an emergency parachute that automatically opened at 750 feet, but that canopy was only fully deployed for about one to two seconds before his body impacted the ground.

FMI: www.navy.mil