Navy finds no misconduct in BASE jump death

VIRGINIA BEACH

The death of a Navy SEAL in an off-hours parachute accident last year occurred in the line of duty and was not due to misconduct, a Navy investigation found.

Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Stimson died July 16, 2010, while parachuting off a cellphone tower in Suffolk. He was BASE jumping - a high-risk, often illegal sport that involves parachuting from fixed objects.

Stimson, 30, was a member of Virginia Beach-based Naval Special Warfare Development Group, known informally as DEVGRU or SEAL Team 6. The unit attracted worldwide attention in May when it killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Stimson's conduct did not rise to the level of recklessness or willful neglect, the commander of the unit wrote in his report, noting that he was engaging in an activity "closely resembling those which our operators engage in every day."

"To succeed, we must train hard and accept risks most others would refuse," he wrote. "Risk is inherent in our daily lives."

The investigation report was provided to The Virginian-Pilot last month in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Names of the commanding officer and other principal players in the investigation were deleted.

The "line of duty" determination means that Stimson's dependents are eligible for military survivor's benefits, said Lt. Arlo Abrahamson, a Navy special warfare spokesman.

Stimson was married with no children.

Abrahamson said the determination was made in accordance with Navy legal standards. Under those standards, simple negligence, or carelessness, does not constitute misconduct, he said.

Stimson took numerous steps to mitigate the risk, the commander wrote. He was an experienced sky diver who donned the proper gear, attended training classes, consulted experts in the field and planned his jumps thoroughly.

Stimson was a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and a recipient of the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.

As many as 10 members of SEAL Team 6 have been known to engage in BASE jumping in their off-duty hours, the investigation found.

The acronym "BASE" stands for building, antenna, span and earth.

A fellow SEAL, Jason James Tompsett, 31, was with Stimson in the predawn incident and jumped off the tower successfully. He was charged with trespassing by Suffolk police. The charge was dismissed in Suffolk General District Court.

The 250-foot-tall tower off Godwin Boulevard is surrounded by a barbed-wire security fence with "no trespassing" signs on it.

"While I do not condone trespassing," Stimson's commanding officer wrote, "the trespassing did not proximately cause" Stimson's death.

In response to the accident, the commander wrote, the Navy initiated "a thorough review of high-risk activities specifically concentrating on off duty recreational activities."

It remains unclear whether BASE jumping is an approved recreational activity for SEALs.

"We don't publicly discuss specific approved and disapproved training and recreational activities within our command," Abrahamson said by email, "but we can tell you any approved activity is carried out in a manner consistent with Navy safety instructions and in good judgment with regards to operational risk management."

Abrahamson did say trespassing is not tolerated. "We hold our service members accountable for their actions and expect them to abide by Navy instructions, community standards and all applicable laws," he said.

April Phillips, a spokeswoman for the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, said there is no official Navy-wide policy regarding BASE jumping.

"But in many cases it's illegal," she said. "State and local laws would come into play."

Even if done legally, she added, a proper application of risk-management principles would indicate that "it may not be a good idea."

Stimson's jumping partner found him lying face-down on top of his canopy with its suspension lines wrapped around his feet. He died of multiple impact injuries to the head, neck and torso.

None of his equipment was found to be defective.

A Navy parachute specialist who examined Stimson's gear told investigators it appeared that Stimson rolled into a head-down position in which the lines became entangled in his legs, causing the canopy to engulf him. In such a short jump, he didn't have time to disentangle himself.

"BASE jumping is a very unforgiving sport," said Larry Pennington, owner and operator of Skydive Suffolk, a local sky diving center where Stimson was a regular jumper.

It's "an entirely different breed of cat" from sky diving, which is done from an aircraft at heights up to 13,000 feet, Pennington said.

A typical sky dive lasts 60 seconds, he said. In contrast, a typical BASE jump lasts two to six seconds.

"There's nothing wrong with a BASE jump as long as it's done properly and legally and is done with the proper gear," Pennington said. "If you don't adhere to the laws - not only of the state, but of God and gravity - they both have serious results."

Pennington said the only place he knows of in this part of the country where BASE jumping can be done legally is the 876-foot-tall New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia, where jumpers are welcomed one day a year - the third Saturday in October.

He tried it once about 25 years ago, "when I was a little bit younger and dumber," Pennington said. That was enough.

"Tyler was a good guy. He was a very safety-conscious guy. He just made a mistake," Pennington said. "You shouldn't think less of him. It was just what he wanted to do. Unfortunately he had some bad luck."

Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com