Slam Dunk!
10-06-2004 | 01:07 PM
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Slam Dunk!
MONROE TWP. -- An experienced parachute jumper died Thursday afternoon when he crashed into a basketball hoop in the front yard of a Dahlia Avenue residence after his parachute failed to deploy properly.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He was jumping from a Freefall Adventures Skydiving School airplane. No other injuries were reported.
The parachutist had been jumping for 10 years, police said. His name was being withheld until next of kin were notified.
David Pancake, an instructor at the school, said by all indications the jump was a typical skydive.
"It appears as though the individual lost track of his altitude," Pancake said. "His equipment operated perfectly fine."
Pancake said parachutes must be deployed at around 2,000 feet. If opened lower, there is insufficient time for the parachute to operate properly, Pancake said.
Visual gauges and audible indicators hooked to a computer system are typically used on most jumps to gauge altitude, Pancake said, but are not required for experienced jumpers.
The accident occurred at about 3:52 p.m. Monroe Township police and ambulance squads reported to the scene.
It was the first fatality reported from the skydive school since 2002, when 28-year-old Brooklyn native Seth Karp died from injuries sustained after his parachute failed to fully open.
A 50-year-old woman was injured last month jumping from a Freefall Adventures plane when her parachute collapsed and she crashed into some tree branches.
Urban "Wayne" Welsh, who lives near the Cross Keys Airport where the skydiving school is located and who has experienced fatalities in the past, said deaths like this one take a toll on everyone who lives near the school.
"It's a very stressful and traumatic event," Welsh said. "Even for me, and I've seen a few."
An investigation is continuing by the Monroe Township Police, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The incident was reported by the Gloucester County Communications Center.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He was jumping from a Freefall Adventures Skydiving School airplane. No other injuries were reported.
The parachutist had been jumping for 10 years, police said. His name was being withheld until next of kin were notified.
David Pancake, an instructor at the school, said by all indications the jump was a typical skydive.
"It appears as though the individual lost track of his altitude," Pancake said. "His equipment operated perfectly fine."
Pancake said parachutes must be deployed at around 2,000 feet. If opened lower, there is insufficient time for the parachute to operate properly, Pancake said.
Visual gauges and audible indicators hooked to a computer system are typically used on most jumps to gauge altitude, Pancake said, but are not required for experienced jumpers.
The accident occurred at about 3:52 p.m. Monroe Township police and ambulance squads reported to the scene.
It was the first fatality reported from the skydive school since 2002, when 28-year-old Brooklyn native Seth Karp died from injuries sustained after his parachute failed to fully open.
A 50-year-old woman was injured last month jumping from a Freefall Adventures plane when her parachute collapsed and she crashed into some tree branches.
Urban "Wayne" Welsh, who lives near the Cross Keys Airport where the skydiving school is located and who has experienced fatalities in the past, said deaths like this one take a toll on everyone who lives near the school.
"It's a very stressful and traumatic event," Welsh said. "Even for me, and I've seen a few."
An investigation is continuing by the Monroe Township Police, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The incident was reported by the Gloucester County Communications Center.
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