Report: Cop killed in jump did not pull ripcord

Monday, April 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The report said Officer Keith Hashimoto's main and reserve parachute ripcord handles were stowed in their pockets and had not been pulled when the death scene was examined.

Hashimoto, 36, was parachuting with Navy SEALS to determine whether parachute tactics should be added to SWAT techniques when he fell to his death March 29, 1996 at a Fallon Naval Air Station training site, Acting Reno Police Chief Jim Weston said.

In a copyright story Sunday, the newspaper said the report also faults Navy personnel for their failure to properly maintain safety devices on the parachutes of Hashimoto and other jumpers.

The report by Cmdr. G.R. Peairs said "the failure to use the FF-2 (HiteFinder) was not a proximate or contributing cause of his death," as the safety device is considered "marginally reliable" by Navy personnel.

But the report said that had the FF-2 "been properly set, maintained and utilized, the use of one of them by Officer Hashimoto could have possibly prevented his death."

The device is designed to activate a reserve parachute if the main chute fails to open.

The devices were removed from the parachutes of Hashimoto and three other jumpers the day of the fatal jump because they activated during a helicopter flight to the jump site.

"Had that same safety device been on the parachute pursuant to military regulation, Keith Hashimoto would be alive today," said Reno lawyer Cal Dunlap, who represents Hashimoto's widow, Carole, and their two daughters.

The report cited numerous violations of Navy procedures and made a series of recommendations to the Navy.

The report also faulted the mission leader, Lt. Cmdr. Michael A. Dyer, saying he "failed to fully carry out his jumpmaster duties and responsibilities according to governing directives."

Dyer has been reprimanded for allowing Hashimoto and another Reno police officer to participate without proper authorization, the Navy says.