Posted on: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

'Expert' skydiver hurt in landing maneuver

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A skydiver from Florida was critically injured yesterday at Dillingham Airfield when he got into trouble while making a turning maneuver just before landing, authorities said.

The skydiver's name was not released. He was flown by helicopter to The Queen's Medical Center in "extremely critical condition," said Donnie Gates, assistant chief of the city's Emergency Medical Services.

The hospital would not release information on his condition.

Paramedics were called to the airfield at 11:42 a.m.

The 50-year-old skydiver spends his winters in Hawai'i and jumped yesterday with Pacific Skydiving Center, said Guy Banal, owner of the company.

"The guy is an expert jumper," Banal said. "He was flying a new parachute. He tried a high-speed turn and hit the ground pretty hard. He misjudged it."

Banal said it might have been too windy for the skydiver to make the turn.

"He is very experienced and I am very surprised he tried this in this kind of weather," Banal said. "It was very windy."

Frank Hinshaw, president of Skydive Hawaii, was at the accident site. He said the skydiver had a "perfect" parachute.

"It never stopped working for him," Hinshaw said. "He rode a perfectly good parachute into Dillingham Airfield. He just tried a turn and didn't have enough altitude and he hit with centrifugal force." The skydiver took the brunt of the impact on his chest and suffered multiple fractures, he said.

This was the second skydiving mishap in eight days. Jeremy Barrett, a 24-year-old Pearl Harbor sailor jumping with Skydive Hawaii, was killed Feb. 6 when his parachute malfunctioned.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating Barrett's accident because his parachute did not open properly. But an FAA spokesman yesterday said the agency would not be investigating the recent accident because it appeared to be operator error.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.