Skydive airplanes midair
 

WDIO.com - 2 Skydive Superior Planes Collide, 1 Injured



Shannon Sturm

Authorities said two planes collided in the air Saturday night.

The planes were carrying nine skydivers up to do a formation jump when they collided. One pilot had minor injuries. The other pilot and nine skydivers escaped uninjured.

Officials with Skydive Superior say one of the planes went down in a fiery crash, while the other was able to make an emergency landing.

Mike Robinson, an instructor at Skydive Superior, was in one of the planes that crashed.

"Just as we climbed out getting ready to leave, the planes collided," he said. "The trail plane came over the top and hit the lead plane."

Robinson said the lead plane was completely destroyed, breaking into three fiery pieces. He said the fuselage landed at the Head of the Lakes Fairgrounds in Superior. That pilot was able to escape, according to Robinson.

"He's got to get his seatbelt off, he's got to get out the door and deploy the parachute, which he did an amazing job on," Robinson said. "The other pilot did an amazing job to land that aircraft."

The pilot of one plane had minor injuries, according to Robinson.

The nine skydivers parachuted to safety.

"Very lucky for the circumstance that we were all in," Robinson said. "We had to avoid the debris in the air of the planes in free fall. We could see the burning airplane come apart into at least three pieces."

The crash was even heard from people on the ground in Superior.

"I was just inside working and all of a sudden there was this really weird noise," witness Wayne Barnard said. "It was kind of just like a 'boom'."

The FAA and the Department of Transportation Safety Board will be in Superior tomorrow to investigate. We'll have the latest information as it becomes available

Wow, amazing that they all got out.

That was something all jumpers think about occasionally, how to get out if the aircraft fails catastrophically. Helo jumps always made me nervous...

Wow, I'm happy that everyone survived!

So true! I'm still in in awe of the pilot of the lead plane and how he was able to calm and focus and still deploy his chute.




atp

Is it routine for the PIC of a jump plane to wear a parachute?

A lot of STCs for pulling the door require everyone on the plane to have a chute.

One reason could be that they may exceed FAA bank/pitch angles that require a chute on descent in order to prevent shock cooling and to get the next load of pax.

It is routine, either due to operational requirements or preference.

It was required where I flew for a short time.

Survivors of Saturday's mid-air collision take to the sky again | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota

A link to an article with a few pictures and some more info about an appearence on the 'Today' show.

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