A British tourist who authorities said was seriously injured in a skydiving crash near Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against his instructor and the owner of the skydiving operation.
Mitchell Deakin, of Lancashire, United Kingdom, suffered critical injuries Sept. 17 outside of Jean after jumping out of a plane with an instructor from a height of about 11,000 feet, the Metropolitan Police Department said at the time.
The crash occurred after a malfunction with a backup parachute kept the main parachute from fully opening, police said, citing witness accounts. That caused Deakin and his instructor to fall into an uncontrollable spin.
The 31-page complaint filed Friday in Clark County alleges that local skydiving operator Brenton Buckner was negligent and “owed a duty to ensure that tandem instructors, parachute packers,” and other employees were “properly trained, supervised, qualified and competent” to maintain and use parachute equipment in compliance with applicable safety standards, industry requirements and federal and state regulations.
According to the complaint, Buckner is the owner of Skydivelasvegas.com; Skydive Nevada LLC; Skydive Vegas LLV; Las Vegas Adventures LLC; Skydivesincity.com LLV; Volatile Aero Ventures LLC; Volatile Sky Sports LLC; Volatile Sky Ventures LLC; and The Narrow Path Limited Partnership, which are also each listed as defendants.
The suit alleges negligent hiring in the training, supervision and retention of skydiving instructors Mauro Ravanelli and Jairon Arcos Ponce, who, according to a family friend, was Deakin’s instructor. Either Arcos Ponce or Ravanelli, both listed as defendants, personally packed and prepared the parachute used in Deakin’s fall, according to the complaint.
The crash left Deakin with a fractured pelvis, broken ribs, a perforated lung and kidney laceration, according to a GoFundMe digital fundraiser that raised more than $24,000 for Deakin’s recovery.
Attorneys for Deakin were not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X.
