- Dec 26, 2007
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A first-time skydiver was able to steer safely to the ground Saturday afternoon after his 49-year-old instructor died of an apparent mid-air heart attack.
The first-timer, described as an active U.S. military member, took over after the instructor lost consciousness, authorities said. The pair were attached to the same parachute in a form of skydiving known as a tandem jump, in which instructors are strapped to the backs of their students.
The instructor, identified as George "Chip" Steele of Sumter, became unresponsive in the final moments of a 6-minute jump -- well after he had pulled the rip cord, authorities said.
Once on the ground, the diver tried to revive Steele using CPR. But too much time had likely elapsed for the efforts to do any good, Chester County Deputy Coroner Keith Hudson said.
Authorities did not release the first-timer's name on Saturday night. But Hudson credited him for keeping composure. He said the man is in his 30s.
"He kept control," Hudson said. "His military experience helped him out a lot as far as making it to the ground safely."
Steele worked for Skydive Carolina, a business located at the Chester County Airport since 1986. He had made thousands of jumps over a lengthy career, general manager James LaBarrie said.
"There was no equipment malfunction whatsoever," LaBarrie said of Saturday's incident. "From what we understand, the instructor evidently had something go wrong medically."
This is Skydive Carolina's second fatality in its 23-year history, LaBarrie said. The other was in 1989, when a 42-year-old man who was an experienced jumper died after he apparently failed to open either his main or reserve chute.
Instructors at Skydive Carolina are required to get regular medical checkups, LaBarrie said.
Tandem-jumping is the company's most popular program for beginners, according to its Web site. Divers take a 45-minute safety course before boarding an aircraft. Once at an altitude of 13,500 feet, divers jump in two-person harnesses with their instructors.
"You will accelerate to over 120 miles per hour for up to 60 seconds," the Web site said. "Then you can pull the ripcord and enjoy a breath taking five-minute flight."
Divers can touch down in a landing area that covers 800 acres within the confines of the airport. At least one person is always assigned to monitor landings, LaBarrie said.
In these jumps, divers can reach up to a pair of controllers known as toggles to turn the rectangular canopies and slow down their speed as they near the ground. But it's possible to land without using the toggles, LaBarrie said. It was unclear how much maneuvering the first-timer did in this case, he said.
Skydive Carolina has hosted a number of major exhibitions, including a 2005 jump in which more than 70 participants linked in midair and built various formations on their way to the ground.
Because faulty equipment was not at play, LaBarrie said skydiving lessons would resume today, provided the winds are not too strong.
Steele, who grew up on a farm in Sumter, had been skydiving since before his mother, Betty, could remember. He was exposed to skydiving in the military decades ago.
"He absolutely loved it," his mother said late Saturday.
Until about three months ago, Steele worked at Strong Enterprises in Orlando, Fla., helping to build and test parachutes, Betty Steele said.
But the company cut back in the tough economy, she said, and her son was laid off. He returned to his family's farm in Sumter and later took the job with Skydive Carolina.
Of the surviving jumper, Steele said, "(The coroner said) he said a few minutes out of the jump, he said something to Chip, and he didn't answer. ... He noticed when he looked at it that his head was slumped. He landed safely ... and applied CPR, but it was too late. Chip was already gone."
http://www.heraldonline.com/front/story/1107806.html
yeah..I know..it is early.
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