Instructor Killed When Chute Failed

Sun., Aug. 9, 1998

From Staff

A 45-year-old skydiving instructor was killed and a woman diving with him was severely injured Saturday when their main chute failed to open and they crashed to the ground.

The accident occurred Saturday evening at Kapowsin Airport.

The instructor and the woman, who was on her first skydive, were harnessed together when they jumped from a plane at 4,000 feet, said Pierce Co. sheriff’s spokesman Curt Benson.

Their main chute failed, and when the instructor tried to activate their reserve chute, it did not fully open, Benson said.

Both victims, whose names were withheld, were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The instructor died and the woman, a 27-year-old from New York state, was in critical condition.

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