Pilot sentenced for decapitating skydiver with plane

File photo of a skydiver going through clear skies

A French pilot has been banned from flying after he decapitated a skydiver with the wing of a plane.

Nicolas Galy, 40, was struck in the air moments after jumping from the aircraft in July 2018.

The pilot, who has not been named, was found guilty on Tuesday of involuntary manslaughter and given a suspended sentence by Montauban criminal court.

The Midi-Pyrénées Skydiving School Association, which employed the pilot, has been fined 20,000 euros.

Half of that amount, 10,000 euros, has been suspended, French media report.

According to Le Parisien, immediately after the drop, the pilot of the aircraft began its descent towards the aerodrome tarmac.

Before the skydiver jumped out of the aircraft, there was no consultation on the trajectory the plane would take, the paper said.

Citing a hearing on 19 September, the lawyer for the victim’s relatives, Emmanuelle Franck, deplored “a lot of recklessness or negligence”.

The president of the court in south-west France also pointed out a lack of communication between the victim and the pilot.

Since the incident, security measures have been strengthened and briefings have become obligatory, the report added.