Two sky divers were killed when the tandem-parachute jumpers landed hard Saturday near the Longmont airport.The 28-year-old student, Matthew R. Seering of Arvada, and 54-year- old instructor, Daniel P. Braafhart of Commerce City, were sky diving at the Mile-Hi Skydiving Center at the Longmont Vance Brand Municipal Airport.
The accident happened about 1:30 p.m.
The parachute functioned normally, officials said, but the pair made a turn at a low altitude, which caused them to accelerate to the ground. It was unknown why they made the turn.
Longmont police Sgt. Jeffrey Satur said Seering was pronounced dead at the scene. Braafhart was taken to Longmont United Hospital, where he died.
Winds at the time of the accident were estimated to be about 15 miles per hour.
Satur said the Federal Aviation Administration joined forces with Longmont police, examined the equipment and checked all cords and rigging, which “appeared to be normal.”
The backup chute was packed correctly, said FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer.
“It’s a very dangerous sport,” Satur said. “This is an example of how dangerous it can be.”
Satur said the incident appears to be accidental and that the pair jumped from about 10,500 feet.
“It’s a very tragic day for us,” said Mile-Hi Skydiving Center owner Frank Casares.
The sky-diving company expects to reopen today, Casares said.
Fatalities in tandem jumps are rare, said Mike Neslin, dropzone owner and operator at Skydive The Rockies at Fremont County Airport near Cañon City.
Mile-Hi Skydiving Center has “an extremely highly skilled crop of people,” Neslin said, but “any number of things can happen.”
“There have been incidents in the past where someone was trying to get over or around an obstacle,” Neslin said. “There have been incidents where someone caught a downdraft and where someone caught an updraft.”
Mile-Hi Skydiving Center opened in 1995 and averages about 35,000 jumps per year, Casares said.
There have been three other fatalities at the site, but none involving tandem jumping. One was a professional sky diver in a competition in 2006.
The Boulder County coroner office said autopsies would be performed today.
Kelly Yamanouchi: 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com
