A skydiving instructor whose parachute failed to open during a jump Saturday has died, according to the Texas center where he worked.
“Skydive Houston, along with the greater skydiving community at large, is deeply saddened by the loss of our tandem instructor and friend,” the Skydive Houston skydiving center in Waller, Texas, said in a statement Sunday.
“Our deepest condolences are extended to his friends and family. We continue to pray for a full recovery for the injured tandem student.”
Waller County Sheriff Troy Guidry told Citizen Free Press that a female skydiving client and her male instructor were making a tandem jump Saturday afternoon near the town of Waller, northwest of Houston, and “the parachute didn’t open.”
Guidry said Saturday that both were airlifted to Memorial Hermann Medical Center in Houston, where they were listed in critical condition Saturday night.
Guidry said the cause of the crash is under investigation and Skydive Houston said jump operations are suspended pending investigations by local police and the Federal Aviation Agency.