skydiving

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Skydiving Tragedy: 'He Hit the Roof Pretty Hard'

Unidentified man killed after crashing into home in Perris, Calif.

(Newser) - A skydiver was killed after he slammed into the roof of a California home Monday afternoon after it appeared his main parachute didn't open, KABC reports. "He hit the roof pretty hard," a witness says, adding that the unidentified man's orange emergency chute, which didn't...

Skydiving Santa, Elf on Shelf Crash-Land on Florida Beach

They slammed into tree and light pole during charity event, but both are OK

(Newser) - A skydiving Santa looking to make a grand entrance while taking an Elf on the Shelf to a 9-year-old girl crashed into a tree and light pole before hitting a Florida beach and breaking his leg, the AP reports. News outlets say George Krokus was dressed as Santa Claus during...

Skydiver Told Wife He Wasn't Going to Pull Cord

Costansa Litellini was 'moments too late' to save her husband

(Newser) - Costansa Litellini ran into Florida's Skydive DeLand on Tuesday begging them not to let her husband go up in a plane, the Orlando Sentinel reports. But the plane, with 27-year-old Capotorto Vitantonio inside, had already taken off. Vitantonio's body was found face down in a field a short...

Skydiver Makes Unexpected Landing in New Jersey

Rescue crews had to help skydiver out of tree

(Newser) - Rescue crews in New Jersey freed a skydiver who got stuck in a tree and was dangling 70 feet above the ground, the AP reports. Emergency crews in Gloucester County got a call around 5pm Tuesday saying the skydiver had crashed into the trees in Monroe Township. Per NJ.com...

She Survived 3.5K-Foot Fall, Just Won $760K Over It

Texas teen Makenzie Wethington says parachute malfunctioned

(Newser) - A Texas girl whose 16th birthday present almost killed her has been awarded $760,000—more than $200 for each of the approximately 3,500 feet she plunged after her parachute malfunctioned. Makenzie Wethington, now 19, suffered internal injuries as well as a broken pelvis, lumbar spine, and shoulder blade...

In Fatal Tandem Jump, an Issue With the Teacher

FAA is still investigating deaths of Yong Kwon, Tyler Turner

(Newser) - The director of an organization that certifies skydivers said Thursday that the instructor who led a tandem jump in Northern California that turned fatal didn't have the required advanced parachuting certificate, the AP reports. The Federal Aviation Administration requires tandem-jump instructors to receive training and a certificate from the...

2 Skydivers Killed When Chutes Fail to Open

'It looks like ... something may have gone out of sequence'

(Newser) - Two skydivers were killed Saturday during a tandem jump in northern California, reports the AP . Their bodies were found in a Lodi-area vineyard after someone reported that the skydivers hit the ground without an open parachute, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deputy Les Garcia said. It appeared the parachute did...

Skydiver Is First to Jump Without a Chute

Luke Aikens jumps, lands in a net on live television

(Newser) - A 42-year-old skydiver with more than 18,000 jumps made history when he became the first person to leap without a parachute and land in a net instead. After a two-minute freefall, Luke Aikins landed dead center in the 100-by-100-foot net Saturday at the Big Sky movie ranch on the...

Skydiver to Jump From 25K Feet With No Chute

Luke Aikins' stunt will be broadcast live on Fox Saturday

(Newser) - An hour-long live TV special on Fox Saturday will lead up to two holding-your-breath minutes in which a veteran skydiver will leap out of a plane at 25,000 feet (no biggie) without something one usually needs for such a jump (kind of a biggie): a parachute. Per the AP...

Skydiving Student Found Dead With 'No Harness'

'She came completely out of whatever and dropped to the ground'

(Newser) - Sheralynn Neff took part in at least five skydives over the weekend, so her last on Sunday should have been routine, reports the Hutchinson News . Instead, the 26-year-old's parachute landed without her. Crews in Cushing, Okla., searched for 16 hours before discovering the body of the Kansas woman—whom...

5 Killed in Hawaii Skydiving Plane Crash

Cessna burst into flames just after takeoff

(Newser) - Five people died in Hawaii Monday morning when a skydiving tour ended in disaster. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman tells NBC that the single-engine Cessna 182, carrying two skydivers, two tandem instructors, and the pilot, crashed into a field shortly after taking off from Kauai's Port Allen airport. Four...

Ex-Marine Dies in Unexplained Parachuting Accident

James Stremmel had jumped more than 1,800 times

(Newser) - A former Marine died Saturday in a tragic and still-unexplained parachuting accident in North Carolina, WRAL reports. James Stremmel was diving for the second or third time that day when his parachute apparently gave him trouble: "He was setting up his parachute; he was setting up for landing and...

Woman Turns 100 With Skydive, Sharkdive

Georgina first jumped out of a plane at 92

(Newser) - What better way to mark your long life than by risking its end? Celebrating her 100th birthday with a parachute jump is not enough for South African Georgina Harwood, who plans to make her centenary even more exciting by doing a shark cage dive tomorrow. Her birthday skydive was a...

Skydivers Cheat Death With Early Jump

13 escape just moments before plane crashes into lake

(Newser) - They went out to skydive for fun and ended up leaping for their lives. The pilot and all 12 skydivers on a light plane escaped without serious injury after the aircraft suffered engine failure and crashed into a lake in New Zealand today, the BBC reports. Officials say the plane...

Instructor, Student Killed in Skydiving Accident

Pair apparently hit building near Cape Cod Airfield

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration and local authorities are probing the deaths of two skydivers yesterday evening. The instructor and student, both adult males, were found next to a garage across the street from the Cape Cod Airfield, reports NECN . "We responded to the scene and we observed two people—...

George Bush Skydives for 90th Birthday

Keeps promise he made 5 years ago

(Newser) - It wasn't that long ago that George HW Bush was thought to be on death's door at the hospital . Today, though, he marked his 90th birthday in style—by skydiving, reports CNN . Bush jumped out of a helicopter tethered to a retired member of the Army's Golden...

3 Jump to Safety Before Plane Crash Kills 8

Crash is Finland's worst air disaster in decades

(Newser) - Three people, including the pilot, managed to jump to safety using parachutes when a plane carrying skydivers experienced trouble over western Finland; another eight were killed when the aircraft crashed and caught fire, the BBC reports. Witnesses saw the three jump from the American-made Comp Air 8 light utility aircraft...

Skydiver Killed During World Record Attempt

Parachute failed during 222-person jump

(Newser) - Another attempt to smash a skydiving world record has ended in tragedy. One of 222 skydivers from 28 countries died as the team attempted to free-fall from 18,000 feet and come together in two formations before pulling their parachutes, reports the Arizona Republic . The woman, a 46-year-old from...

Teen Survives 3,500-Foot Fall
 Teen Survives 3,500-Foot Fall 
Jan 29, 2014 8:32 AM CST

Teen Survives 3,500-Foot Fall

Mackenzie Wethington recovering after skydiving accident

(Newser) - An absolutely amazing story out of Oklahoma, where a Texas 16-year-old survived a 3,500-foot fall in a skydiving mishap—and didn't even require any surgery for her injuries. Mackenzie Wethington, who went skydiving Saturday as a birthday present from her parents, slammed into the ground, yet somehow only...

Giffords Marks 3rd Anniversary of Shooting With Skydive

Tucson ceremonies remember victims

(Newser) - Gabby Giffords marked the third anniversary of being shot in the head in Tucson by, of all ways, skydiving. Elsewhere across the city, others gathered for bell-ringing and flag-raising ceremonies to remember the six killed and 13 injured—including the former Arizona congresswoman—on Jan. 8, 2011. Giffords waved and...

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