Parachute Malfunction Claims Life of 82nd Airborne Paratrooper

Staff Sgt. Jamal Clay of the 82^nd Airborne Paratrooper Division died on June 25 when his parachute malfunctioned during a routine static line night jump at Fort Bragg's Sicily Drop Zone.

During these standard jumps, soldiers are equipped with full gear that includes a gun and rucksack to assimilate a combat jump. Clay was wearing the Army's new T-11 parachute that is a square-shaped canopy, rather than the traditional round-shaped parachutes.

The new shape is supposed to reduce injuries by creating a slower, more controlled descent. This was Clay's third jump using the new canopy. Clay had logged a total of 25 jumps.

According to the Fayetteville Observer, 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.

Lt. Col. Dave Connolly, a division spokesman, said it's too soon to question the safety of the T-11 parachute and conveyed it was premature to speculate about the parachute after one incident. He added that jumping out of airplanes is inherently dangerous, regardless of the type of parachute used.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Clay, 25, was a vehicle recovery supervisor with Company G, 1st Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

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

Clay, of Elida, Ohio, joined the Army in 2004. He is survived by his wife, Jasmine Clay, and two children, ages 6 and 2.