LONGMONT — A 38-year-old sky diver from Englewood was critically injured Saturday when she crashed during a practice maneuver at Longmont Vance Barth Municipal Airport.
Airport manager Tim Barth said she was “swooping” — making a turn to skim across the ground — after a steep descent.
On her third jump of the day, when she tried to turn and swoop, “there was just not enough room,” Barth said, and she hit the ground at high speed.
He said the injured woman is a pro-rated sky diver who had made about 1,500 jumps and was a freelance parachute instructor. She was practicing, not teaching, when she crashed.
The woman was taken to a hospital in Longmont, then airlifted to Denver Health Medical Center because “her injuries were so extensive,” said Barth.
The airport did not identify her Saturday. Federal Aviation Administration investigators were called to the scene.
Denver Post staff and wire reports
