Death plunge skydiver ‘had a heart attack’
A VETERAN skydiver killed in a parachute accident is thought to have suffered a stroke or heart attack during free-fall, according to eyewitnesses.
James McConnell, 69, died after jumping from a plane in Pattaya, Thailand, on Thursday.
Yesterday his son Mark, 43, paid an emotional tribute to his father, describing him as ‘my hero’.
Mr McConnell, who was originally from Duntocher, Dunbartonshire, missed the landing spot and came down in the nearby Nong Kho reservoir. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Thai Sky Adventures, which organised the jump, said it was ‘99 per cent certain’ the Scot had a stroke or a heart attack after jumping from the plane.
Spokesman Harry Hongjindapong said witness accounts and video evidence suggested that Mr McConnell suffered ‘a medical event’ at around 5,000ft.
He added: ‘He was an experienced skydiver, he had been jumping for many years, nearly 1,500 jumps.
‘Watching the videos, he just rolled on to his back and started spinning. If he was in control of his faculties then he would have regained stability within half a second.
‘This sort of thing doesn’t happen to an experienced skydiver unless they have lost control over their physical ability.’
Mr Hongjindapong said CPR was carried out after Mr McConnell was pulled from the reservoir, but it is thought he had not been breathing when he hit the water.
He added that local police are planning to carry out further interviews with the four other people who were on the jump.
‘He was just a lovely man,’ said Mr Hongjindapong. ‘I have known him for several years now and he was a regular at the centre. He was a very unassuming character, very competent and I would have every faith in his ability. At the end of
‘Doing what he loved doing’
the day, he died with his boots on. He was doing what he loved doing.’
Oil worker Mark McConnell, who is also an experienced skydiver, received news of his father’s death while he was on a rig offshore on Thursday. He was airlifted to the mainland to begin his journey from Scotland to Thailand.
Mr McConnell Jnr, who lives in Kirriemuir, Angus, wrote on social media in the early hours of yesterday: ‘It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell my Facebook friends and family that my dad Jim McConnell has sadly passed away.
‘As soon as I can confirm what happened I will let you know, but for now the family and I would appreciate privacy at this difficult time. Blue skies to you all.
‘All of you who knew my dad will know that he went the way he wanted to and no one should feel sad. Fly free my hero.’
Mr McConnell Snr is survived by his son, two grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in Thailand. We are in contact with the Thai police.’