AN SAS soldier killed when a parachute jump went wrong could have been saved if he had a radio, a coroner was told.

Captain Daniel Wright, 25, of the Queen's Gurkha Signal Corps, died at Weston-on-the-Green after falling 2,500ft on November 17, 2005, during his first day training with the Special Forces when his parachute did not open properly.

Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner Andrew Walker was told personnel on the ground were shouting to the soldier, who was not issued with a radio, to cut away his main chute, but by the time he deployed his reserve it was too late.

Mr Walker identified the lack of radios was one of the issues he would need to address during the hearing.

The inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court was shown video footage of the moment Capt Wright, from Newport in South Wales, jumped from the plane, which had taken off from RAF Brize Norton, and span out of control, hurtling towards the ground.

He opened his reserve chute at 200ft but disappeared at speed and hit the ground behind a line of trees.

The officer in charge of the drop zone on the day gave evidence to the inquest from behind screens to protect his identity and was referred to as Witness A.

When asked by Mr Walker whether he thought radios were necessary for those undergoing their first jumps he said: "In my opinion the use of radios would be advantageous for people to get instructions on how to control the parachute to the ground."

He explained there were some difficulties in using radios if there are a number of people in the air who could get confused about who messages are meant for.

He said that the training was geared towards soldiers having that "instinct reaction" themselves to cut away their chute if they got into trouble.

Mr Walker said: "It seems to me one of the factors that comes out very strongly in this tragedy is if those people on the ground were able to speak to Capt Wright he may have deployed his reserve chute soon enough to save his life."

Witness A said that in his opinion he was not sure radios would 100 per cent stop these sorts of scenarios.

Mr Walker then asked him: "Is it more likely than not, on the balance of probabilities, that a radio would have saved his life?"

Witness A replied: "I can't disagree with that."

Mr Walker said: "So the answer would be yes?" to which the officer agreed.

He told the court that on the day of the tragedy there was a loudhailer in use on the ground but could not recall whether it was used during Capt Wright's descent.

The hushed courtroom, including Capt Wright's parents, Irwin and Carol, had earlier watched as a video recording of his jump was played on a TV screen.

The footage showed Capt Wright was the second of three to jump from the aircraft but, while the other two parachutes successfully deployed, he began spiralling towards the ground.

The voices of instructors on the ground could be heard saying "Cut it away" and "Get off it, get off it for ***** sake" as the chute span out of control.

A voice then says "Jesus Christ" as the parachute disappears behind a line of trees, striking the ground at high speed.

The inquest continues