An experienced skydiver unfortunately passed away on Saturday as a result of her main parachute colliding with the gear of another jumper and her emergency chute failing to deploy, according to the police.
Upson County Sheriff Dan Kilgore stated that prior to her final jump over the weekend, Jasmine Black, who is 48 years old, had performed more than 160 jumps with her previous jumps. According to the sheriff, an initial inquiry revealed that her parachute collided with the parachute of another skydiver as both of them neared the landing zone at Thomaston Upson County Airport, which is located around 60 miles south of Atlanta.
Before attempting to deploy her emergency parachute, it seemed as though Black had first performed a “cutaway” maneuver, which is a skydiving term for disconnecting a main parachute that was failing. Kilgore claims that the emergency chute did not open because the skydivers collided at a low altitude. This is the reason why the chute did not open.
It was reported by the sheriff that deputies who arrived to the site discovered Black’s body lying on the tarmac of the airport grounds. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded to the incident and will provide assistance to the sheriff’s office as they continue their investigation into the incident.
Skydiving was something that Black was doing with the company Skydive Atlanta, which has a facility at the airport where they do their business.
In the year 2020, a skydiving accident occurred during a tandem jump that was operated by the same firm, resulting in the deaths of an 18-year-old woman and her instructor. Kilgore reported at the time that their primary parachute had failed, and that the emergency chute “did not deploy until extremely low altitude and did not fully open.”
Inquired about a comment from Skydive Atlanta today.
In the world of skydiving, fatal accidents are relatively uncommon. Nine civilians lost their lives while skydiving in 2024, according to the United States Parachute Association, which reported that its members had completed more than 3.8 million jumps for the year.
