Andy Keech

Andy Keech is renowned in parachuting circles for his exceptional freefall photography and pioneering achievements in skydiving and aviation. A native of Australia, Keech made his first jump in 1959 in New South Wales and quickly established himself as a trailblazer in the sport. He and Laurie Trotter completed Australia’s first baton pass, and he participated in the world’s first 4-way formation skydive, documented on film by Carl Boenish, a fellow Hall of Fame member. As an accuracy competitor, Keech won the Australian National Championships in 1961 and was his team’s top scorer at the 1964 world meet.

Skydiving photography became Keech’s passion, leading him to take breathtaking photos across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the U.S. His work has been featured in prominent publications such as Time, Sports Illustrated, and The London Times. In 1970, Keech embarked on a decade-long project to produce his iconic three-book series, “Skies Call,” capturing skydiving moments at world meets and record attempts in Australia, Hungary, South Africa, and the U.S. In 1980, he documented the U.S. Formation Skydiving Team’s exhibition jumps in China.

Keech holds the highest Australian expert parachute licenses, E-1 and F-1, and has held senior and chief instructor ratings. In 1979, he received Australia’s Master of Sport Parachuting award. He retired from skydiving in 1985 after completing more than 1,500 jumps.

In addition to his skydiving achievements, Keech is an accomplished aircraft pilot with private and commercial licenses. Over his 60-year flying career, he set three transcontinental speed records across the U.S. and 29 world-class performance records in autogyros. Keech is one of only two pilots since the Wright brothers to hold world-class records in all four realms of performance: speed, distance, rate of climb, and altitude.

Upon his induction into the International Skydiving Hall of Fame, Keech expressed his gratitude, stating, “It is a pleasure, a surprise, and wonderful—all at once—to be considered favorably to join this pantheon of all-time greats. [It’s] an abundance to take in all at one time. The cup runneth over. A bit much for an ordinary fellow.”