Blue Skies, Johnny "Velocity"
On a chilly but otherwise beautiful May day, we lost a brother to a freefall collision and subsequent no-pull. John Faulkner (known to many as "Johnny Velocity" or "Johnny Wood"), an avid jumper and tandem instructor with over 1,000 jumps, died on Saturday, May 18 at Skydive Chicago during a two-way freefly jump with Jeff Brown.
John, an experienced freeflyer, had been doing tandems for most of the day, and this was thought to be his first non-instructional jump of the day. The plan was for the two to go head-down on exit and for Jeff, who has about 35 jumps, to try to maintain stability and proximity with John. "We got a lot of vertical separation early in the dive (I was low)," said Jeff. "We'd agreed that if I didn't get a good head down, I'd sitfly. I saw him orbit me once while I tried to get into a good head down, and then I decided to go into a sit.
"I believe that he tried to catch up with me (from above) after that, and I think I had gotten into a sit when something hit me from behind and on my right side. My right arm went numb and my knee hurt, and I didn't know at first what it was. As I pulled I saw him falling away from me on his back with his arms over his chest. I believe he was knocked unconscious when it happened."
John was wearing an open-face hard helmet, had an audible altimeter, and his rig had a Cypres automatic activation device that either was turned off, had cycled off, or malfunctioned, as it did not fire. SSK Industries will test the unit to determine which was the case.
Blue skies, Johnny--you'll be missed.
Note: This information is from a witness report. The results of the investigation will be released in Parachutist at a later date.
Team Funnel (a loose organization of skydivers at Skydive Chicago dedicated to the belief that no one should have to jump alone) sponsored a fundraiser in the names of Johnny and other skydivers who have passed away (for the Make-A-Wish Foundation) on Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26. Their goal was $4,600--the average cost of this foundation's fulfilling someone's wish--and the total raised was over $5,400.
Two die as skydiver hits glider
Two people fell to their deaths after a freak mid-air collision when a skydiver smashed through the wing of a glider. The glider's pilot also died in the collision at around 2,000ft, which happened at Hinton Airfield, near Brackley, Northants, at about 1500 BST on Saturday.
The wing of the glider was knocked off by the force of the impact and both people were killed instantly, a spokesman for the Air Accidents Investigations Branch said.
A Northamptonshire police spokesman said the glider came down in a field close to the private airfield.
Investigation launched
Among the first to arrive at the scene was a crew from Two Shires Ambulance Service who confirmed the deaths.
A spokesman said: "We arrived to find a parachutist was deceased and the glider pilot also deceased.
"There were no other casualties."
An AAIB spokesman said few details of the accident were available but confirmed the tragedy.
"A parachutist flew into the glider knocking off its wing," he said.
"There are two fatalities ... the pilot and the parachutist."
Investigators are due to attend the scene to establish in greater detail how the accident happened - they will be assisted by the Parachute Association.
Staff at Hinton Skydiving Centre, which is based at the airfield, were unable to comment as the incident is being investigated.
~ BBC
Lee "Skypunk" Werling Dies In Fall From TV Tower
BITHLO -- Carrying parachutes, the three men hopped the fence surrounding the television tower in rural east Orange County early Thursday and rode the elevator 1,682 feet to the top. Then, simultaneously, they jumped from the steel girders to the fog-shrouded cow pasture below.
At six seconds, the first chute opened. The second chute opened two seconds later.
But Timothy Lee Werling II, who friends told police was addicted to danger, waited a fatal 11 seconds before pulling the cord and plunged to his death at 172 feet per second.
As Werling, 30, fell, the video camera strapped to his helmet recorded his final jump.
"If he had even pulled it at 10 seconds, he probably would have survived," Orange County Sheriff's Detective Rick Lallement said.
Two other men took part in the pre-dawn adventure -- one jumping from a lower platform 1,000 feet from the ground and the other deciding at the last moment not to jump.
Werling, who moved to DeLand recently from Ohio, was known as "Sky Punk" for his daring exploits. He had made 600 jumps off towers, cliffs and bridges as part of the extreme sport known as BASE jumping.
"When you have a son that lives for the adrenaline of BASE jumping, you sort of expect it," Timothy Werling, 57, said in a telephone interview Thursday from his home in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester, shortly after learning of his son's death. ". . . He died doing the thing he loved."
The cluster of television masts near Bithlo has become popular with BASE jumpers -- an acronym for buildings, antennae, spans and earth. Mountain Dew even filmed a television commercial for the soft drink, showing jumpers leaping from one of the towers.
Werling's friends told Lallement that he was the kind of jumper who pushed his jumps to the limit.
"They're cocky," Lallement said. "They're big-time thrill seekers. Jumping out of an airplane isn't enough."
One of the group called 911 shortly after 7 a.m. to report Werling's death. Werling apparently died an hour earlier.
"He's dead," the caller told the emergency operator. "Impact injuries. High speed to the ground."
Police said that Werling's friends, whom they did not identify, went some distance to a pay phone at a convenience store to make the call reporting his death.
By all accounts, Werling was an experienced sky diver and BASE jumper. Investigators at the scene found a picture of Werling at the New River Gorge in West Virginia. That spot is so popular it is closed annually so jumpers can use it exclusively.
Passion for jumping
Werling apparently moved to Central Florida to indulge in his passion for jumping year-round.
He lived in a one-bedroom apartment in north DeLand, where his landlady remembered him as a "well-spirited" person. He worked as an administrative assistant at Skydive DeLand, a popular sky-diving operation.
"I'm very sad," said Mike Johnston, Skydive DeLand's general manager. "He was pretty exuberant and passionate about life."
To veteran parachutists, BASE jumping is a perilous version of their sport but draws many seasoned sky divers because of its daredevil stunts and increased rush from jumping at lower altitudes.
"It's popular. I've never made a BASE jump," said Brian Erler, a sky-diving cameraman who works at Skydive Space Center in Titusville. "Depending on the altitude, it's total acceleration. I'm sure it's pretty intense."
Unlike skydiving, where parachutes open at 2,500 feet after sky divers jump from airplanes at 15,000 feet, BASE jumpers leap from lower heights and have far less time to open their parachutes.
Seconds to spare
A few seconds is all BASE jumpers have, but skydivers can have more than a minute before pulling open their parachutes. Unofficial counts put the number of BASE-jumping deaths worldwide at 40. There are an estimated 10,000 active BASE jumpers.
Because the sport sometimes requires its participants to trespass on private property, jumpers often avoid authorities.
"This is a big organization that does this stuff," sheriff's spokesman Carlos Torres said. "It's a common sport. But in Orange County, this is the first documented [BASE-jumping death] we have had."
That is not to say jumpers have been avoiding the area.
Lallement said the Sheriff's Office had spotted at least eight jumpers in the area on three separate occasions during the past few months.
John Stargel, vice president and general counsel for Tampa-based Richland Towers Inc., the parent company for the tower, said the company will review its policies in the wake of the incident.
"The tower is fenced. We have security in place," Stargel said. "But if someone is intent on breaching our security, there's only so much you can do to keep somebody from putting themselves in harm's way."
Lallement had little tolerance for the BASE jumpers who trespass to get to their jump-off points. In this case, the jumpers violated federal law because the location is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.
~ Orlando Sentinel
Experienced skydiver dies on Memorial Day
Experienced skydiver Tony Weber, died Memorial Day weekend from injuries sustained from a hard landing at Cedartown Georgia, Atlanta Skydiving Center. During a holiday road trip with friends, to celebrate college graduation, Tony made a hard landing under a relatively new Vengence 150, at the DZ. He was airlifted off the DZ and died of his injuries 4 hours later.
Tony was a regular jumper at SEMO Skydiving. He was the president of the SIU Skydiving Club. He was a great role model for the new jumpers, and a positive influence on skydiving in general. He was working on his instructional rating and would have been an asset to our club, or any skydiving operation. He was a really good guy.
His parents moniter the NG if you would like to make a positive comment. I have the address of his parents if anyone would like to send a card.
We are all saddened by his loss, and will miss him. He died doing what he loved best...skydiving.
Paul Gholson SEMO Skydiving D-17101 instructor
Skydiver killed after striking head on plane
SUFFOLK, Va. May 11 — A former Navy SEAL and skydiving instructor died after he hit his head on a plane during a jump and fell to the ground without his parachute deployed. Brad Foster, 42, of Virginia Beach, was one of 14 parachutists practicing for a show this weekend when he jumped from the plane Friday, officials said.
Foster, who had more than 4,000 jumps to his credit, likely died upon impact with the plane, fire Capt. James Judkins Jr. said.
Foster's body was found in the back yard of a house about a quarter-mile from Suffolk Municipal Airport, where the flight originated.
Spectator hurt in demonstration jump
Gloucester, UK - DENISE Peacock was enjoying what seemed to be a perfect day out in the sunshine with her family - but seconds later a freak accident left her lucky to be alive.
The 36-year-old, from Coney Hill, was at a bumper May Day celebration in Gloucester watching a parachuting display when she heard a noise above her head.
Before the mother-of-two knew what was happening, she lay writhing in agony on the ground after one of the parachutists lost control in heavy winds, sailed out of the arena, and careered straight into her and her young family.
Today the Church Way resident is on crutches and off work - but she knows she's lucky not to have been more seriously hurt.
The vending machine operator suffered tissue damage and severe bruising to her legs, while husband Lawrence, 37, and children Amy, 12, and Sean, eight, all sustained cuts and bruises.
The parachutist is believed to have broken his leg, and remains in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital today.
Ambulances rushed Denise and the parachutist, from the volunteer Falling Rocks parachute team, to the hospital.
She was released after eight hours of treatment. He will remain in hospital for at least another week.
The family were at Coney Hill Neighbourhood Project's May Day celebrations at Coney Hill Primary School on Bank Holiday Monday when the accident happened.
The three-strong volunteer parachute team's performance, which took place at 2.15pm, was meant to be the highlight of the bumper event.
"The winds were so strong we thought they wouldn't jump," said Denise. "They took off about 20 minutes late, and they were all over the place.
"I don't have a clue how it happened, it was all so fast.
"People said the parachutist shouted for me to watch out, but I didn't hear anything.
"All I remember is lying on the ground in agony after he smashed into me, hitting the back of my legs.
"I was rushed to hospital. I've got a huge lump on one of my legs and I'm told I sustained tissue damage in the other, so I'm stuck on crutches and I can't go to work.
"The parachutist is in hospital at the moment - he's badly hurt. It was a nightmare."
Parachutist Colin Laker, who landed safely just before his out-of-control colleague, denied the winds were too strong to take the jump - but he admitted he probably got caught in an unexpected gust.
"It just happens once in a blue moon. We have to put it down to a tragic accident, I'm afraid," he said.
"The wind was most definitely not too strong to take the jump. It was very comfortable for us and there was no question of us not doing it.
"I understand the parachutist concerned landed beside the woman, and rolled over onto her - it was his momentum that caught her.
"He must have been caught in a gust of wind when he was up there, and was knocked out of control. I can only apologise and put it down to a freak accident."
Mr Laker said the parachutist did not wish to be identified.
Denise claimed she never received an apology from anyone at Coney Hill Neighbourhood Project, who organised the event.
But project spokeswoman Val O'Connor claimed it was not their responsibility.
"We contracted the Falling Rocks team to do a piece of work for us - and the decision to do the jump was taken by them and them only," she said.
Skydiver Called A Hero
ELLINGTON -- As she hurtled toward the ground, the skydiver couldn't open her parachute. Her instructor, Robert J. Bonadies, dove toward her and pulled her cord. But some say it was too late for him to help himself.
Bonadies died Monday in the skydiving accident. The student and another instructor who jumped at the same time were not injured.
"Most people would say he was a hero," Don Semon, a safety and training adviser for the United States Parachute Association, said Tuesday.
Bonadies' death was ruled an accident Tuesday after an autopsy at the chief medical examiner's office. State police and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
Family members and friends gathered at Bonadies home Tuesday, sharing memories and calling him a hero.
"His smile was contagious," said friend Bill Beaudreau. "He just made you feel good just being around him. I could just see him right to the end, putting his life aside to make sure this person lived, and that's what he did."
An electrician, Bonadies, 47, was also a father and grandfather. He had what one relative called "an infectious smile."
When it came to skydiving, he was as experienced as they come. He was president of Connecticut Parachutists Inc., a club based at Ellington Airport - about 6 miles from his Vernon house. He had been skydiving for more than 20 years. He completed 2,040 free-fall jumps - 254 in the past 10 months.
He also was a long-distance runner. He ran up Mount Washington and trained participants for charity events.
"He was a pretty active guy," said his brother-in-law, Mark Miller. "He loved his family. He loved his work. He loved to skydive."
That much is evident in a photograph of Bonadies skydiving. In it, he is smiling as he sails through the bright blue sky with a student harnessed beneath him.
Bonadies' relatives and friends at Connecticut Parachutists said he saved the student's life Monday.
Semon, who also is a member of the club, said Bonadies and another instructor were on either side of the student when they jumped at 12,000 feet from a Cessna 182.
When he saw that the student couldn't pull the handle to open her parachute, he did it for her, Semon said.
Mark Miller said Bonadies dove through the air to catch up with her.
"He maneuvered himself under her. He pulled her cord so her chute opened. He pulled his reserve chute. But he was too close to the ground," Miller said.
Semon, however, said Bonadies never got a chance to attempt to open either his main or reserve parachute. The police said when they found him, the reserve chute was open, but both police and Semon said it could have been forced out by the impact.
Meanwhile, television station WTIC reported Tuesday that Bonadies was not wearing a device that would have automatically opened his chute at about 1,000 feet. Although many skydivers choose to wear the so-called automatic activation device, Bonadies did not, WTIC reported.
All novice skydivers who are jumping with the Connecticut Parachutists group are required to wear the devices.
From the USPA Safety & Training Newsletter Vol. 2, Issue 6
Instructor Responsibilities
Recently during a Category C student skydive, an AFF Instructor was killed after the formation funneled at the student's pull altitude. The two instructors and their student tumbled, and eventually one of the instructors released and deployed his main parachute at a low altitude. The other instructor continued tumbling with the student and deployed the student's main parachute just as the AAD deployed the reserve. The instructor reached the ground before he could deploy his own parachute. The student landed her bi-planed main and reserve without further incident. In situations such as this, altitude awareness is critical. Things happen very fast due to the increase in fall rate while tumbling, which only serves to add to the problems the instructor is already dealing with while trying to get the student deployed.
With this tragedy, Instructors are reminded of the protocol that has been established regarding students and pull altitudes. The AFF Syllabus of the Instructional Rating Manual lists the following guidelines regarding deployment problems:
5. General:
a. The instructors must assure student main deployment by 3,500 feet to allow both instructors time to get clear and open by 2,000 feet.
b. No instructor should ever get above a student. Note: AADs often activate higher than the preset altitude.
c. The instructor(s) must ensure reserve deployment by 2,500 feet to get clear and open by 2,000 feet.
d. Under no circumstances should an instructor attempt to catch a student or remain with a student below the instructor's minimum deployment (2,000 feet).
e. The instructors must take care that one does not deploy the student's main while the other deploys the reserve.
(1) Only if the main deployment handle is inaccessible should the reserve-side instructor deploy the student's reserve parachute.
(2) Many systems have reserve-side instructor deployment handles to make deploying the main parachute easier for the reserve-side instructor.
USPA strongly encourages all skydivers, especially instructors, to use an AAD, which may have changed the outcome of this event. An audible altimeter can also serve to provide an additional altitude warning for instructors while working with students. Solo students, and instructors and students who are using tandem equipment must wear an AAD.
SkyVenture Arizona!
Today, Sky Venture announced its acquisition of TunnelCamp.com and the construction of Sky Venture Arizona. Alan Metni, former Arizona Airspeed member and owner of TunnelCamp.com, will join Sky Venture as its CEO. Sky Venture also made public its immediate expansion into new markets with tunnels slated for construction in Southern California, New Jersey, Chicago and Texas. Sky Venture recently begun franchise operations in Malaysia and is building a tunnel in the UK for its military. The company has the capacity and financial ability to build multiple units simultaneously.
Sky Venture Arizona - a second generation Vertical Wind Tunnel located just outside Phoenix - will be less than 20 minutes drive from Sky Harbor Airport and 45 minutes from Skydive Arizona. Site selection, financing and design are complete and the company has begun fabrication of the enormous steel superstructure and components. Sky Venture Arizona will reportedly be faster, smoother and quieter than previous Sky Venture tunnels and superior to any other known design. Sky Venture Arizona will produce 45% more horsepower than its Florida predecessor and will be optimized for the sport skydiving and military markets (as part of the expansion plan, the Florida tunnel will also undergo substantial upgrades). Sky Venture has filed for additional patents on many of the improvements.
Bill Kitchen is the inventor of the Sky Venture Vertical Wind Tunnel and the majority owner of Sky Venture. Kitchen built Sky Venture Florida as a working prototype in 1997. Its unique design employs multiple ducted fans situated above the air column to provide a flying experience almost identical to free fall. The device has not only proved the concept but has been operating profitably for the last three years. Recently, teams and individuals of all skill levels have flooded Sky Venture with business. As a result, Sky Venture Florida is now running over-capacity, often booked weeks or months in advance. The upsurge in demand has prompted the large expansion program announced by the company today. The company recently completed the engineering and plans for a recirculating tunnel to be used in colder climates.
Alan Metni is a former member and manager of the United States National Formation Skydiving Team, Arizona Airspeed, and the owner of TunnelCamp.com. TunnelCamp.com has both benefited from and contributed to Sky Venture's success. TunnelCamp.com has trained more than 350 skydivers of all experience levels at SkyVenture. Its popular training camps are generally sold out 45 to 60 days in advance. TunnelCamp.com has flown more than 900 hours at Sky Venture and is reportedly the largest single civilian purchaser of tunneltime in the world. TunnelCamp.com plans to offer training camps at Sky Venture Arizona and Sky Venture California in the latter part of 2002.
For further information, please contact Bill Kitchen (bill@skyfun.com) or Alan Metni (alanmetni@pobox.com, 480-283-2603).
Disaster, and the reflex that saved 10
For 12 months the story has been told in bare bones: skydiver Simon Moline's chute deploys prematurely as he's exiting the plane over the Nagambie drop zone, the chute wraps around the tail of the plane and he is tangled in it, the tail tears off and starts falling, pilot Barry Dawson screams at the skydivers still on board to get out while he tries to control the plane. He barely gets out himself before the plane drops nose-first into the ground.
Tomorrow marks a year since Moline died, since people started calling Dawson a hero. Back then they were turning up at Dawson's door at all hours wanting him to tell the story. He told a bit of it, but wasn't happy with all the questions because he hadn't really worked out how he felt. Elated, even surprised, to be alive; hurt because his friend was dead - that's all he knew.
Last week, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau released its investigation report on the accident. In short, Moline's reserve canopy was deployed prematurely (an extremely rare occurrence) when the pack holding the reserve canopy's pilot chute rubbed against the top of the Cessna Caravan's exit door.
Dawson had decided to wait for the report to come out before telling his part of the story in detail. On Friday night, two people who had been on the plane that day were coming over for a few beers - and he figured that was a good time to get a lot of the talking done about that Sunday over Nagambie.
"It was," he says, "a beautiful day. Blue sky, no clouds, virtually no wind. Maybe a southerly, five knots. Perfect for skydiving."
He was out at the plane by 7.30am, doing his preliminary checks. Matt Drinkwater, one of the members of Simon Moline's formation team, helped Dawson with his checks. The team, practising for a competition, was going up on the day's first run, the first of eight.
Dawson had known Moline for nearly 10 years. They began skydiving together about the same time at the Pakenham drop zone. "A good bloke. Very careful and very capable," says Dawson.
Moline's formation team comprised Drinkwater, James Boyle and Kath Hoffman. Their regular cameraman wasn't there and a friend, Simon Chaberka, was filling in.
In the Cessna Caravan, the skydivers sat in two rows, in safety harnesses bolted to the floor. On the team's eighth run, there were six other jumpers aboard, one a student.
On the approach to the target area, at 14,000 feet, the maximum height skydivers can climb to without wearing supplementary oxygen, Dawson called: "One minute", the signal for everybody to put on their goggles.
Soon after, Moline's team begin moving to the door, to get in position.
The formation team then made a ring, with Boyle on the right of the doorway, facing out. Drinkwater and Moline were facing into the plane, bent over, with their backsides stuck out - and with Moline between Boyle and Drinkwater.
Dawson couldn't see the team's exit positions. "All I know is I can feel them climbing out."
At this point, another climber, Craig "Crash" Bennett came forward, to thank Dawson for the flight. There was a bang and the plane went into a nose-dive. It was Moline and his canopy hitting the left horizontal stabiliser on the tail assembly.
"I didn't see it, but I heard it, and I felt it," says Dawson, "and I just knew that someone was over the tail. I didn't know it was Simon. I was just hoping they could get off, and trying to bring the aircraft up and level and from going down. We were still buffeting around."
Dawson shouted for everybody to get out.
Meanwhile, cameraman Chaberka was falling, with his eyes turned upward and locked on to Moline and the plane's tail. Chaberka saw the parachute canopy go past him and over the tail. He was a little below Moline as Moline was dragged from Boyle's and Drinkwater's hands by the chute. "I saw Simon's canopy get wrapped around the tail and then the tail twisting, 45 degrees to the right, before it snapped off. Simon was still hanging off the tail."
According to the ATSB's investigation report, 11 seconds passed from Moline's impact with the tail section to the tail section tearing away from the rest of the plane, with Moline still tangled in it.
In those 11 seconds, in a stable flying position known as "frog" or "box man" - flat to the ground with his arms arranged as if he was being mugged - Chaberka fell about 1000 feet. When the plane overtook him, he followed on, looking for sign of Dawson. "I hadn't seen Barry. All the way down I was calling, 'Get out, get out, get out.' "
The plane was falling and spinning. Dawson was in trouble. He recalls: "There were still one or two people in the plane when the tail separated. I think one of them was spat out at that point. As the tail snapped off, the plane whaled on to its back and Crash (Craig Bennett) got pushed up against the windscreen. I was saying, 'Crash! Get the f--- out'. But Crash wasn't sure whether to step on the instruments and damage the plane. That's what appeared to be going through his mind. But he got his foot on the panel and I saw him go over the seats like Superman."
Bennett left the plane at about 9000 feet. Meanwhile, Dawson had shut down the fuel pumps, the engine and, with one hand on the control column, calling "Mayday, mayday, mayday", he unbuckled his seatbelt and brought up his left leg to push off the instrument panel, as Bennett had done. But as soon as he let go of the controls, the plane started spinning, and Dawson's dash went nowhere: the G-forces slammed him face first to the floor, between the seats, breaking a rib.
"As I hit the floor, I heard the door go 'bang', the sound it makes when it's dropped . . . I couldn't even raise my arm up and I was trying to push forward using my legs but then my boot got stuck, my right foot, stuck in the seat belt."
Losing his new boot, Dawson hauled himself along the floor as if he was trying to climb a wall while glued to it, using the harness seatbelts as a hand grip. The plane was tilting about 45 degrees, then it would go vertical, then flatten out, then tilt again. "The G-forces would come on hard sometimes, and it was like when you're in a dream and you want to move and you can't lift your arm and I was just hanging off the harness belts until the Gs eased enough for me to lunge a little more toward the door."
Reaching the door, with one hand on a harness for support, Dawson found he couldn't raise the roller door more than a few centimetres with only one hand. He needed two hands for a clean lift. Desperately, he thought of throwing his canopy out of the crack. "That way I'd have been dragged out, but I probably wouldn't have survived it."
It was at this point, exhausted and frustrated, unable to see a way out, he thought of his daughter Crystal, only eight weeks old. "And I thought, 'There's no way I'm leaving my baby', and I just went sick."
Suddenly, he found he could get his arm out to the crook of the elbow, giving him better purchase on the door. When he had worked it up to his shoulder, he turned over on to his back and squeezed his head out. The plane was still spinning, falling, gaining speed. He was giving birth to himself, pushing himself out. When he got so the door was on his waist, Dawson had a look around to see which way was up and gave a final heave. As he slipped out (at about 1000 feet, says the ATSB report) and rolled over, he saw the plane hit the ground and burst into flames. By the time he pulled the ripcord, he was at about 600 feet, a second and a half from death.
After a perfect landing, Dawson saw Chaberka land and they met and hugged, with the plane burning behind them. Dawson was still thinking Moline was all right - hurt but alive. But then he and Chaberka watched him come down, tangled in the tail, in a paddock to the west. Soon after they heard he was dead. "The report says he probably died before he landed," says Dawso
Fire guts Skydive Cape Town
Cape Town - Two Cessna aircraft and parachutes worth R6 million were destroyed in a suspected arson attack at Melkbosstrand near Cape Town on Tuesday morning, Western Cape police said. The fire started around 03:00 in a hanger at a parachute club said Superintendent Wicus Holtzhausen. "The hanger and everything inside it have been destroyed."
The club is situated on Peter Dale's farm along the West Coast Road between Atlantis and Melkbosstrand some 20km from Cape Town. "Dale noticed the flames and alerted police," Hotzhausen said.
"Details are still sketchy, but we suspect that it was arson," he said. "There is no electricity or any other power supply that could have caused the fire."
A number of homeless people live in the dense vegetation along the West Coast Road in the immediate vicinity, but no witnesses have yet come forward.
Equipment lost in the fire includes:
11 Vector Tandem Rigs
12 Student Rigs
Cessna 206
Cessna 182
Video Equipment
Private gear of more than 20 members.
The whole hangar
The club is looking for donations or assistance in any form and specifically requests that you contact them if you have decent second hand Vector Tandem gear for decent prices. Please contact Peter Mauchan (Long Pete) at: skydivecapetown@global.co.za
Skydive Cape Town
www.skydivecapetown.za.net