Parachute packs to be scrutinised

THE parachute packs of three stricken skydivers will become a key focus of the investigation into the triple fatality at Mission Beach.

Investigators say they have reviewed footage taken from the camera of tandem instructor Peter Dawson, from inside the plane and witnesses on the ground, but it did not give “the complete picture”. Solo skydiver Toby Turner was not carrying a camera, police confirmed.

The pair, along with local mother-of-eight Kerri Pike, who was on a tandem jump for her birthday, were pronounced dead at the scene on Friday.

Cairns police Forensic Crash Unit’s Sgt Scott Ezard, who is leading the investigation alongside officials from the Australian Parachute Federation, said an expert “parachute rigger” would assess the equipment. He said the altimeters worn by the two instructors would also be analysed.