Skydiver survives crash landing at Queenstown
A man escaped serious injuries when his recreational parachute jump ended in a crash landing near Queenstown yesterday.
He was one of two people injured in separate aerial accidents. The other crash involved a paraglider.
The skydiver, who was jumping solo, was injured as he landed at the NZOne landing zone about 3.25pm.
NZOne Skydive said an ambulance took him to Lakes District Hospital for further assessment after the incident.
Police said the 29-year-old landed about 50m from the NZOne buildings at Frankton, near Queenstown.
They said the Civil Aviation Authority would investigate.
NZOne Skydive confirmed an incident had occurred with one of its jumpers.“There has been an incident, emergency services have been advised,” a spokesman said.
He said further comment would be made when appropriate.
Earlier yesterday, a paraglider was flown to Dunedin Hospital with serious injuries after a crash near Cardrona Alpine Resort.
Police said officers attended after a personal locator beacon was set off.
A St John spokesman said it was notified at 12.20pm. A woman was flown by helicopter to Dunedin with serious injuries, he said.
In January, a tandem skydiver jumping with NZOne died after he and an instructor crashed into Lake Wakatipu.
The tandem master, who survived the crash, was plucked out of the water after a helicopter pilot who had been flying nearby heard a distress call over the radio.
At the time NZOne director Anthony Ritter said it was the company’s first fatal incident in 27 years.