A man wearing a wingsuit died in a skydiving incident in Colorado on Saturday after both his main and reserve parachutes failed to deploy.
Gregory Coates, 36, was skydiving near Vance Brand Airport in Longmont just before 3:30 p.m. when tragedy struck, according to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office.
The airport is about 40 miles north of Denver and the incident happened in the area of Nelson Road and Grandview Meadows Drive in Longmont.
Coates, who is from a mountain community near the Denver Metro area, wore a wingsuit and jumped with the Mile-Hi Skydiving Center, which is based at the airport, the Longmont Police Department said. A wingsuit skydiver wears a specialized jumpsuit with webbed sleeves with webbing between the arms, body and legs, which allows the diver to glide through the air.
According to several reports, neither Coates’ main chute nor his hold were open. It is not known his level of experience in skydiving or the type of aircraft he jumped from.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was notified of the incident, but they did not respond to the scene, according to Fox 17.
The parachutist was wearing a wing suit when he fell to his death. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
The FAA told Fox News Digital it is investigating primary and reserve parachute packaging and flight rules for pilots and aircraft. The FAA has not determined the cause of the crash, a spokeswoman said.
Fox News Digital sought comment from Mile-Hi Skydiving Center but did not immediately receive a response.
A map shows Vance Brand Airport in Longmont, near where a man died in a skydiving incident on Saturday. Google Maps
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Saturday’s fatal incident is not the first linked to the Mile-Hi Airfall Center.
In 2018, a 23-year-old man died while jumping with the company, according to Fox 17, which reported that the city has raised concerns about the company’s safety record in the past.
In 2008, a skydiving instructor and his student died after falling while skydiving together at an airport.
Most recently, a 26-year-old Boulder man was killed on a solo jump with the company in 2021, marking the fifth death related to Mile-Hi Skydiving since 2018, according to CBS.
The FAA says there are about 30 to 40 deaths among skydivers each year, calling it an “unusually high rate.”
The United States Parachute Association, a private sports organization, said about 4 million skydives were made in the US last year. Of those, more than 500,000 are first timers.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
