Horror as Australian soldier dies during parachuting course at Jervis Bay Airfield - as another is injured

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 01:48, 12 May 2026 | Updated: 01:59, 12 May 2026 An Australian Army soldier has been killed and another has been injured after a parachute training exercise went horribly wrong on the NSW South Coast. The Australian Defence Force confirmed the tragedy occurred during a parachuting training course at Jervis Bay Airfield on Monday night. Another soldier was also injured, but did not require hospitalisation.  'We request that the privacy of Defence members and families is respected at this time,' an ADF statement read.  'Defence will provide further updates when possible.' The latest tragedy comes just two years after Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon, the son of former Defence Minister and Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon, tragically died following a parachuting incident during a military training exercise. Lance Corporal Fitzgibbon, 33, suffered critical head injuries during a parachuting drill at the Richmond RAAF Base in Sydney's north-west In March 2024. He was rushed to Westmead Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.