RAF parachute instructor death: Tributes to Sgt Rachel Fisk

Sgt Fisk's warm personality gave students the confidence to parachute, a colleague said

An RAF servicewoman who died while taking part in a free-fall jump was an "outstanding" parachute instructor, her colleagues have said.

Sgt Rachel Fisk, 32, died at RAF Weston-on-the-Green near Bicester, Oxfordshire, on 3 September.

She was also described as "conscientious", with a "bubbly personality".

The RAF previously said it would not comment on the circumstances of her death while an inquiry was under way.

Sgt Fisk, who was from a military family, was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and joined the RAF in 2011 as a physical training instructor.

She moved to RAF Weston-on-the-Green in 2020 to deliver Joint Service Adventurous Training, the service said.

Flt Lt Nathan Ellis, in charge of the Joint Service Parachute Centre, said she was a "natural and conscientious instructor and... curious and diligent in her work".

Gp Capt Mark Smith said she "rapidly became an outstanding instructor", while Flt Sgt Dylan Bartle said her "bubbly personality... gave students the assurance and confidence required to complete that nervous task of jumping out of an aircraft".

In a statement, her family said: "She lived her life with joy and thoughtfulness for others and loved the career she had chosen."