A Texas skydive instructor and student were critically injured Saturday after their parachutes failed to open during a tandem jump, the Waller County Sheriff’s Office reported.
A tandem jump is when two people jump out of an airplane together, strapped to one another, KTRK reported.
Update 10:48 p.m. EST Feb. 20: The skydiving instructor critically injured after a parachute malfunction during a Saturday tandem jump has died, Skydive Houston confirmed to KHOU on Sunday.
The male tandem instructor was injured along with a female client, who remained hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries late Sunday, the TV station reported.
A witness who lives in the neighborhood told KHOU that the first parachute failed to open, so one of the duo cut it off. A second backup chute then opened only halfway, he said.
Meanwhile, jump operations at Skydive Houston have been suspended during the investigations into the incident, and the company issued the following statement:
“Skydive Houston, along with the greater skydiving community at large, is deeply saddened by the loss of our tandem instructor and friend. Our sincerest condolences are extended to his friends and family. We continue to pray for a full recovery for the injured tandem student.”
Original report: The incident was reported just after noon in a residential area near Skydive Houston, KPRC-TV reported.
“(The instructor) let off his primary, and then the secondary chute, like, opened halfway up, so he didn’t fall like a straight fall. He was like 50% shoot, like a corkscrew,” witness Alex Arias, who lives in the neighborhood, told the TV station.
Authorities confirmed to KTRK just before 2 p.m. that although neither the instructor nor the student were responsive, both were still breathing.
Meanwhile, Waller County Sheriff Troy Guidry confirmed to KPRC-TV that both the man and woman were flown to an area hospital for treatment.
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