Skydivers regularly brush shoulders with death. It's part of the thrill of jumping out of a plane plummeting to Earth. But three skydivers got too close to death. Three skydivers have died while participating at an Arizona facility in less than two months.
Skydive Arizona is known for having the largest drop zone in the world. But the facility recently received backlash after three skydivers died in such a short time span. A 47-year-old man is the most recent to die at the facility after falling. Right now, police don't believe that it was anything more than a tragic accident.
"Eyewitnesses report that the skydiver experienced a normal free fall and safely deployed his parachute. The parachute and gear were all in working order, and no equipment malfunctions were observed," the release said.
Skydivers Die
But the 46-year-old skydiver is just one of three to die. Two weeks earlier Shawn Bowen also died while skydiving there after experiencing a hard landing. His parachute had failed to deploy. His death came a week after Ann Wick died due to complications from her parachute. It experienced complications.
Josh Zerlan, a friend of Wick's told KSAZ-TV that her death was tragic.
"Especially someone like her who is just a warm, caring person," he said. "The problems occurred towards the end of the canopy ride. When you're starting to form up for landing, some of the most dangerous times during a skydive is during the landing."
It's a strange occurrence considering that skydiving deaths are typically a rarity. In 2024, nine people died out of 3.88 million recorded jumps. The fact that so many people died at the same place in such a short time is odd. But it appears to be all related to equipment or user error. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incidents.
But the organization doesn't investigate the cause of parachuting deaths, only aircraft rules. On average, one person dies for every 100,000 jumps from an airplane. Hopefully, no more tragic accidents occur at the area. It's a sad time for the families and friends who have lost loved ones.
