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Gilbert man dies in Florida skydiving accident
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LAKE WALES, Fla. - One-hundred skydivers linked together after opening their parachutes during a jump, apparently setting a record for their type of formation, but an Arizona man died while preparing for the attempt.
The 100 jumpers joined together on the second of two attempts on Wednesday, using their hands and feet to hook up to adjacent open parachutes after jumping from five planes flying at staggered altitudes. The result was a diamond about 200 feet on each side.
The jump was seven years in the making, according to Mike Lewis of Lakeland, one of its organizers.
Skydiver Joseph Lambraith, 49, of Gilbert, Ariz., was injured during a practice jump Saturday when he fell to the ground after his foot became entangled in the cord of another parachute, officials said. He died Tuesday. The other skydiver landed safely using his reserve chute, Lewis said.
The successful formation Wednesday was confirmed by four judges from the U.S. Parachute Association and broke a previous record for an open canopy formation involving 85 jumpers, according to The Ledger newspaper of Lakeland. There was no additional comment from the group Thursday; no one answered calls to the association's office in Fredericksburg, Va.
The association lists the record for the largest freefall formation - in which jumpers link up before opening their parachutes - as 400 people, set in 2006 in Thailand.
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