Parachuting incident · Traumatic injuries and disorders, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Payette National Forest, 500 N. Mission Building #2, MCCALL, IDAHO 83638
on — Traumatic injuries and disorders, unspecified, affecting the nonclassifiable.
Final narrative
A smokejumper was injured while landing during a parachute jump.
An employee was doing a tandem skydiving jump and had a hard impact with the ground. The employee sustained fractures to the pelvis, an arm, and a femur, as well as internal injuries.
A smokejumper parachuted out of a plane to fight a wildfire. He had a hard landing on rocky terrain and suffered a skull fracture, a traumatic brain injury, facial fractures, a fractured neck vertebra, left-side pneumothorax, a broken left humerus, a broken left scapula, three broken ribs on the left side, a broken right tibia, and a shattered knee. He was hospitalized.
During a training event, a smokejumper clipped a tree with his parachute, resulting in a partially collapsed canopy and a hard impact to the dirt ground. The employee was hospitalized for a hip injury.
An employee was loading the back of his truck with buckets of oil. As he was coming down off the truck, he slipped on a surface that was wet due to rain and fell about 3.5 feet to the ground, landing on his left elbow/arm. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left humerus and required surgery.
On September 25, 2025, an employee climbed an aluminum extension ladder and was on top of the roof of a building She was walking around on the roof, inspecting and evaluating it. She was descending the ladder when the ladder slid to the right and twisted around as she hung onto it. She then fell 10-12 feet to the paved parking lot and the ladder landed on top of her. She sustained a fractured left collarbone, multiple other fractures, and had bruising to the left side of her abdomen.
An employee was riding a horse and leading several pack mules along a trail. A few mules started acting up, causing the horse to stir. The employee then fell off the horse and landed on a stiff woody protrusion that impacted her chest/rib area. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured rib and a punctured lung.
An employee was working on a tree thinning unit and was cutting a 6" diameter tree. During the back-cut when the chainsaw kicked back. The saw struck her, resulting in a 3-inch laceration on her left leg below the knee. She was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.
An employee was standing on a multi-purpose ladder installing head flashing over a window. Their feet were approximately 6 feet off the ground and three rungs from the top. The employee lost their grip on the drill they were using and the ladder tipped over. The employee fell from the ladder to the ground, resulting in a fractured left wrist, bruised chest, and lacerations to their face and lip.
An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.
An employee was loading a 4-inch wooden door into a pickup truck when he felt a pop in his right side behind his shoulder blade. He was hospitalized later that day and underwent surgery, having suffered a collapsed right lung.