Jade Damarell: Third Skydiver Fatality at Same NZ Airfield Over a Decade

A 32-year-old skydiver perished immediately upon impact with the ground over the weekend, making this the third fatal incident at the same airstrip within the last decade.

Jade Damarell, aged 32, an extremely seasoned skydiver with over 400 safe prior leaps, is suspected of potentially having intentionally tampered with her parachute equipment and ending her own life.

Mrs. Damarell, a married marketing executive, tragically passed away on Sunday morning during a skydiving session with Sky High Skydiving, an organization located at Shotton Airfield—a site previously known as a coal mine—in Peterlee, County Durham.

The police and emergency responders were summoned to Wreford's Farm closeby, where she touched down; however, she was declared deceased upon their arrival.

SkyHigh Skydiving released a statement indicating that her demise is believed to have resulted from 'an intentional action.'

A representative stated: "We sadly acknowledge that a heartbreaking event occurred on April 28, 2025, affecting a cherished individual within our community."

'The signs indicated by both the police and British Skydiving suggest that this was an intentional action aimed at ending her own life.'

'This heartbreaking news has deeply affected all who knew her, and our thoughts are with her family and friends as they face this unimaginable loss.'

Last year, SkyHigh Skydiving experienced a comparable disaster when videographer Sam Cornwell fell to his demise after his parachute failed to deploy correctly and malfunctions occurred.

Mr Cornwell, aged 46, departed from Shotton Airfield but crashed and ended up on a factory rooftop within the South West Industrial Estate in Peterlee. He was declared deceased at the location on April 28, 2024.

The inquiry held at Crook Civic Centre revealed that during a jump, he was recording another skydiver when his primary parachute deployed but got tangled, making it ineffective. Additionally, his backup chute did not release correctly in enough time to prevent the incident.

CCTV footage caught the moment he struck the roof while images from Mr Cornwell's helmet-mounted GoPro camera were also viewed.

Nine years ago, Pamela Gower fell 14,000 feet to her demise when she couldn't open her parachute due to being spun violently by the wind.

Ms Gower, aged 49, from Tyneside, who had dwarfism, passed away during a skydiving incident as she wasn’t tall enough to execute a maneuver that might have prevented her death, according to a subsequent inquest.

She spun with such force that she experienced more G-forces than a fighter pilot during her descent to the ground. Unable to arch her back—which might have aided in regaining control—because of her build, she plummeted uncontrollably.

Ms Gower was a seasoned skydiver who passed away during a charitable leap at the Peterlee Parachute Centre – located at Shotton Airfield – on September 10, 2016.

It was reported that Ms Damarell, an avid skydiver with about 80 jumps under her belt this year, intentionally did not deploy her parachute as she fell at over 120 mph.

A preliminary inquiry will now commence to determine the events leading up to Jade's passing and address queries about her last hours.

As per what one of her friends mentioned, she leaped an astonishing 11 times during the 48-hour period before she passed away.

A acquaintance of Ms Damarell stated: "This was not merely a skydiving incident; we think she chose to end her own life, which is truly sorrowful."

She went skydiving with another person, separated from them mid-air, flipped onto her back, and then hit the ground.

She decided against opening her parachute and ended up landing on her back.

The police and emergency responders were summoned to Wreford's Farm closeby, where she touched down; however, she was declared deceased upon their arrival.

It is thought that one individual saw the terrifying event.

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