Nobody Dies After Two Planes Full Of Skydivers Crash In The Air

Nine skydivers and two pilots
survived a mid-air crash at 12,000
feet this weekend after those aboard
were able to safely parachute to the
ground. Two of those aboard
suffered minor injuries. The surreal
crash along the Wisconsin-
Minnesota border left one plane
totally destroyed, forcing its pilot to
eject to safety. The other plane was
eventually able to land. Both planes
were owned by Skydive Superior.
According to a local Fox affiliate,
authorities still don't know why the
two planes collided, though they
were flying close to each other at the
time, one following the other. Just
before impact, the lead plane
carried four people seconds away
from jumping in formation, while the
trailing plane carried five — two
inside, two prepared to leap. It
sounds like the crash shook off the
prepared skydivers on impact, while
the remaining two jumpers managed
to get out of the trailing plane
shortly after. The lead pilot ejected
as his plane caught fire and began
to break apart, using an emergency
parachute to guide his descent. The
other plane was in much better
shape.
Every skydiver except for the pilot
was equipped with a steerable
parachute, letting them land more or
less where they were aiming for
before the crash, anyway. All of the
skydivers involved in the crash were
experienced, including several
instructors for Skydive Superior. One
of them, Mike Robinson, described
the debris falling from the destroyed
plane as the group descended:
“We’re in free fall, so we’re falling
about 120 miles an hour vertically
down...But then we open our
parachutes, and now all the sudden
they’re falling faster than we are. …
Fortunately, everybody kept it
together so they just avoided (the
debris).”
Of all those involved, the pilot in the
lead plane that broke apart suffered
the most serious injuries: he "was
visibly bloodied about his face and
shirt and had one hand wrapped in
a garment," according to Superior
Fire Department Battalion Chief Vern
Johnson's comment to CNN.
According to Robinson, the pilot may
need some stitches, but was not
"seriously hurt." "
orisun

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