Col. in serious condition after parachute accident

Paltin, in his mid-40s, participated in a routine jump on Sunday and apparently opened his chute either prematurely or late.

By YAAKOV KATZ
parachute 88 (photo credit: )
parachute 88
(photo credit: )
Col. Dror Paltin, the head of the IDF's Marom unit, was seriously injured Sunday in a parachuting accident at the Palmahim Air Force Base near Ashdod. Marom is an umbrella unit that is in charge of the IDF Parachuting School in Tel Nof, the Oketz canine unit and the Airborne Supply Unit, which during a time of war is responsible for airlifting supplies to soldiers behind enemy lines. Paltin, in his mid-40s, participated in a routine jump on Sunday and apparently opened his chute either prematurely or late. His injuries included a number of leg fractures. He was flown by helicopter to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer. The last such accident took place on Independence Day when a parachuter accidentally landed in a crowd of onlookers on the Tel Aviv beach. He was seriously injured. In February 2006, Yosef Goodman, a soldier with the Paratroop Brigade's Maglan special forces deep penetration demolition unit, was killed after his parachute became tangled around the leg of his commander. Goodman managed to cut the ropes of the parachute, thus saving the life of his commander, but was too close to the ground for his emergency parachute to open.