Civil Aviation Authority investigates fatal skydive
The sudden death of a skydiver has sent New Zealand’s skydiving community into shock.
Police reported the man, named last night as 21-year-old Theo Williams of Hamilton, died on his way to hospital after skydiving near Kittyhawk Way, Mount Maunganui, on Saturday morning.
The Civil Aviation Authority is sending two investigators to Tauranga today to determine what happened. WorkSafe is also investigating, the police and the coroner are also making inquiries.
It’s believed that Williams worked for Tauranga Skydive but had been skydiving alone.
In a statement, Tauranga Skydive chief executive Donnie Banez said the company was saddened by the accident.
The man was an experienced, single sports skydiver who was completing a solo jump, Banez said.
‘‘After a normal free fall and safe parachute opening, the sports skydiver suffered injuries upon landing.’’
All information has been passed on to the appropriate authorities, Banez said.
‘‘He is a valued member of our skydiving family, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. We have organised on-going support for our team, and a private karakia was held to honour his memory.’’
Skydive Auckland operations manager Fiona McLaren said she it would be a shock to everyone involved in the industry.
‘‘Obviously the skydiving industry is going to feel sadness over the loss of one of our own. We are a very close community but the effect of something like this will extend further than just skydivers.’’
McLaren said the skydiving industry was heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority and the New Zealand Parachute Industry Association to put safety first. ‘‘There are strong safety measures in place but despite everyone’s best efforts, from time to time there can be incidents. ‘I know that Skydive Tauranga is a very well run business and they take safety very seriously, they are a great bunch of people.’’
NZ Parachute Federation facilitates sports skydiving competitions, but its vicechairwoman, Lisa Chambers, said she could not comment on the Tauranga incident because she did not know the details.