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David John Liston

Smokejumper

Smokejumper Liston was participating in mandatory annual recertification practice parachute jumps in preparation for the upcoming wildland season. He had completed three jumps. During the fourth jump of the day, Smokejumper Liston’s parachute failed, and he plunged 3,000 feet to his death. Emergency medical care was provided immediately by other smokejumpers trained as emergency medical technicians to no avail. Smokejumper Liston’s cause of death was listed as multiple impact (deceleration) injuries. All smokejumping activities in Alaska and Idaho were halted for over 2 months as this incident was investigated. The investigation revealed that the parachute malfunction was characterized as a "drogue in tow" meaning that the drogue chute deployed but did not release on demand in order to deploy Smokejumper Liston’s main parachute. Smokejumper Liston then followed emergency procedures and manually deployed his reserve parachute. During this action, the reserve pilot chute became entangled with the drogue bridle (the line which attaches the drogue to the main parachute) thereby preventing both the main and reserve canopies from deploying. Smokejumper Liston was the first parachute-related fatality for the Bureau of Land Management in 40 years.
photo of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
David John Liston was honored on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was included in the USFA’s annual report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.

Department information

BLM Alaska Fire Service
P.O. Box 35005

Ft. Wainwright, Alaska 99703

Chief: Scott Billing

Age: 28
Rank: Smokejumper
Classification: Career
Incident date: April 29, 2000 16:45
Date of death: April 29, 2000
Cause of fatal injury: Struck By
Nature of fatal injury: Trauma
Activity type: Other
Emergency duty: No
Duty type: Training
Fixed property use: Outdoor Property

Last updated: June 13, 2012