CHUTE HORROR
SEAL stunt jumper killed in harbor
Parachute used by member of the Navy SEALs’ elite Leap Frogs team is collected by emergency workers in Jersey City after the chute failed to open during Fleet Week stunt Sunday. The unidentified skydiver plummeted into the water near Liberty State Park, where the Coast Guard recovered his body.
A MEMBER of the Navy’s elite SEAL skydiving team fell to his death Sunday after his parachute failed to open and he plunged into the Hudson River during an aerial exhibition that was part of Fleet Week festivities.
With the Stature of Liberty as a backdrop, the jumper, a member of a Navy parachute team called the Leap Frogs, splashed into the water off Jersey City’s Liberty State Park, where thousands of spectators were watching the airshow shortly after noon.
He was pulled from the water by the Coast Guard and the Jersey City Fire Department marine unit and taken to Liberty Marina in the park and then to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:10 p.m.
Amateur video captured the parachute landing in a parking lot, where police officers took pictures as part of their investigation.
A freelance photographer told NJ.com that the parachutist apparently realized he was in trouble and cut himself loose from the chute so he would land in the waters of New York Harbor.
“The Navy SEAL’s parachute failed to open properly, and he landed in the water adjacent to Liberty State Park,” Rear Adm. Jack Scorby said at a news conference outside the hospital. “He was retrieved immediately by U.S. Coast Guard and the Jersey City Fire Department marine unit.”
The accident stunned witnesses, traumatized Navy personnel and left a pall over the entire Fleet Week celebration.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, and I ask for all of your prayers for the Navy SEAL community who lost a true patriot today,” Scorby said. The chute’s failure to open is under investigation, Scorby said.
The SEAL’s name was withheld pending family notification.
Other members of the team, who jumped from two helicopters, landed safely. One parachutists descended with a large American flag.
Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, said the jumper’s death hit the Navy hard.
“Today we suffered a tragedy in NYC,” Richardson tweeted. “Thoughts & prayers w/ family & Leapfrog team members. Condolences on behalf of entire @USNavy.”