Army Golden Knight hospitalized following hard landing at Florida base
The accident comes almost a year to the day after three Golden Knights were seriously hurt jumping over Homestead
A U.S. Army soldier was hospitalized Thursday morning after landing hard from a parachute jump at Homestead Air Reserve Base.
The soldier, who the Army has not named, is listed in good condition at Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, said Sgt. 1st Class Robert Dodge, spokesman for the Army's Recruiting command.
The soldier is a member of the Golden Knights parachute demonstration team and was performing a certification jump around 10 a.m. when he landed too fast, Dodge said. Certification jumps are required annually to remain eligible to jump, Dodge said.
The Army did not release specifics of the soldier's injuries.
The accident comes almost a year to the day after three Golden Knights were seriously hurt jumping over Homestead.
On Feb. 12, 2019, two soldiers' chutes became entangled during a night training jump, and they plummeted about 2,500 feet, according to ABC News. Three soldiers were injured in the accident.
Dodge said two of the soldiers have recovered and returned to active duty. The third, however, Sgt. 1st Class Richard Young, was more seriously injured and is in the process of being medically retired from the Army.
He broke several bones, including his leg, jaw and most of his ribs, and he suffered a fractured spine and skull. Doctors at Ryder put him into a medically induced coma for about two months, Dodge said.
The Golden Knights are based at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, however their winter home is Homestead.
The team is seen often at college and professional sporting events nationwide, as well as events like parades and air shows. As well as performing high-altitude free fall jumps, they also take dignitaries, celebrities, teachers and journalists on tandem, 13,000 to 14,000 free fall jumps as part of the Army's recruiting mission.
Former President George Herbert Walker Bush jumped with the Golden Knights on four birthdays starting when he turned 75.
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