Veteran jumper dies when his parachutes fail to open

Karen Zekan

Friday, Aug. 1, 1997 | 9:11 a.m.

A seemingly routine video trip turned deadly for a veteran sky diver when his main and reserve parachutes, which authorities say he packed himself, failed to open during a jump near the Jean airport.

The Las Vegas man with over 750 jumps to his credit was making his third trip of the day using a helmet camera to videotape jumpers when the disaster happened at about 2:15 p.m. Thursday.

The victim's name has been withheld until relatives can be notified.

"The main chute streamed out behind him, it was fully extended but never opened," said Tom Cannarozzo, president and owner of the Las Vegas Sky Diving Club for whom the victim was free-lancing.

"Whether he pulled the reserve, or it came out from the impact, we'll never know."

Cannarozzo said he was standing at the landing site about three-quarters of a mile south of the Jean airport, looking skyward, when he saw his longtime friend falling.

A pair jumping tandem -- a tandem master and a passenger who were harnessed together -- were already in the air at the time, Cannarozzo said. The victim's task was to capture the pair's moment on videotape as he had done on two earlier trips at 9 and 11 a.m.

Evidence indicates that the main and reserve chutes came out of their containers but never out of the bags, which typically open up quickly, authorities said.

Members of Metro Police's search and rescue unit as well as the Civil Air Patrol teamed up to find the man's body, which landed about four miles south of the Jean Airport.

While Henderson, a few miles northeast was being deluged with rain, the skies south over Jean were sunny and clear at the time of the jump, Cannarozzo said.

He added that the jumpers while on board had performed a "pin check" upon each other to ensure all handles and cords were properly positioned. They jumped at approximately 10,500 feet from a Cessna 182.

The death was the first ever for the club which has been around since 1962.

"There are about 35,000 sky divers in the U.S. who make about three to five million jumps a year, and last year I think there were only 32 fatalities," Cannarozzo said. "It's extremely rare for this type of accident to happen."

The Las Vegas club's 80 enthusiasts either jump in tandem, by static line, or by accelerated free falling.

Cannarozzo said the victim was a family man who worked as a pit boss for Bally's hotel-casino. He had been videotaping jumps for the club for about two years, about the same time he attained his tandem master certification.

Tandem masters are required to have made a minimum of 500 jumps, pass a strenuous evaluation and certification course, possess a class D pilot's license, and pass an FAA medical examination.

"I've been around this sport a long time, and I've seen fatalities," Cannarozzo said. "Losing a friend is tough. It's really tough."