"Both paratroopers were wearing night-vision goggles."

SAS Warrant Officer Dies in Mid-Air Collision During Training

A Special Air Service regiment warrant officer died following a mid-air collision with another paratrooper during a parachuting training exercise at Jervis Bay Airfield on the New South Wales south coast. The incident occurred on Monday evening.

The Incident

According to Major General Garth Gould, the two soldiers—both highly experienced with several thousand jumps between them—were maneuvering towards the drop zone when they collided a few hundred feet above the ground.

The collision occurred after their parachutes had deployed, in low-light conditions. Both paratroopers were wearing night-vision goggles.

After the collision, both soldiers fell from height. The deceased has been named as Warrant Officer Lachlan Muddle, 50, of the Special Air Service regiment. The second soldier, a sergeant from the Australian Defence Force's parachute school, survived with minor injuries and provided immediate first aid to Muddle. The sergeant did not require hospitalization and is recovering.

Defence Minister Richard Marles stated that the parachutes appeared to have become tangled after impact. He confirmed Muddle's 30-year career, which included five deployments including to Afghanistan, and described the exercise as aiming to test advanced parachuting skills in low light.

"The exercise was designed to test advanced parachuting skills in low light." — Defence Minister Richard Marles

Operational Response

The Australian Defence Force has paused all personnel parachuting operations nationwide pending an investigation. The ADF has requested privacy for defence members and families. Further updates are expected.

Recent Training-Related Deaths

This incident follows other training-related deaths in the Australian Defence Force:

• October 15, 2025: Lance Corporal Tulsa Rumney of the 3rd Brigade died in a single-vehicle rollover at the Townsville Field Training Area in north Queensland. Another soldier died and two were injured in that incident.

• March 2024: Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon died after a parachuting incident at RAAF airbase Richmond. Three inquiries—by Comcare, the NSW coronial process, and an internal defence probe—were launched. Findings have not yet been released.

• August 2021: Two soldiers died in a truck rollover south of Townsville. The defence department was charged with breaching work health and safety laws in September 2023 in relation to that incident.