Pilot Banned From Flying After Decapitating Skydiver As He Jumped From Plane

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Following a horrific accident in which a skydiver's head was severed by the plane's wing, a French pilot has been banned from flying.

Nicolas Galy was hit in the air minutes after jumping from the airplane on July 27, 2018, while skydiving above Bouloc-en-Quercy, close to Toulouse, France.

At four thousand meters, the plane's wing impacted Galy's skull, completely decapitating him.

He was wearing a specially-made wingsuit with webbed sections.

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Then his emergency parachute opened, causing his body to fall to the earth in pieces.

According to reports, there were ten parachutists on the trip, including the 40-year-old.

Although he insisted that he had done nothing wrong, the aircraft's unnamed pilot described the event as "the tragedy of my life."

Galy "did not follow the expected course and never should have been on that course," the pilot testified in a court proceeding earlier this year.

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Nevertheless, Le Parisien stated that there had not been any discussion over the plane's course after Galy had jumped out of it.

"He was parallel to the plane... It wasn't my responsibility, I think my flight path made sense," the pilot said. "This has been the tragedy of my life but I am not at fault."

The pilot said he didn't see the wingsuiters and thought he was away from them.

He said: "Compared with parachutists who are in free fall, it’s more complicated with the wingsuiters who go more in a straight line.”

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"They don’t descend much and can be in conflict with the aircraft."

The prosecution requested that he pay a fine of 10,000 euros (£8,500) and serve a 12-month suspended prison sentence. 

An earlier investigation into the accident attributed its cause to a number of factors, including the quick and steep ascension, the omission of informing the people wearing wingsuits, and insufficient protocols followed by the French Parachute Federation.

On Tuesday, November 21, the Montauban criminal court convicted the pilot guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced him to a suspended term.

He was prohibited from flying as well.

According to French media, the pilot's employer, the Midi-Pyrénées Skydiving School Association, has been fined €20,000 ($21,750), however, half of that sum has been postponed.

A lawyer for the victim's family claimed during a hearing earlier this year that there had been "a lot of recklessness or negligence."

Le Parisien has also revealed that security protocols have been reinforced and mandatory briefings have been instituted following the incident.