Skydiver falls to death in DeLand

DELAND -- A skydiver plummeted to her death Wednesday evening near U.S. 92, and investigators worked well into the night trying to determine exactly what happened during the final moments of her fall.

Chantal Bonitto, 31, of New York City, was pronounced dead at the scene, an EVAC spokesman said.

Her body was discovered shortly after 5:30 p.m. in a wooded area along U.S. 92, directly behind the Flo Met office building at 810 Flight Line Blvd.

Bonitto was vacationing in the area and was taking part in jumps offered by Skydive DeLand, according to the DeLand Police Department.

She was no stranger to skydiving, having completed at least 100 jumps, said DeLand Police Lt. Paul Proctor.

"It's still too early to tell what happened," Proctor said Wednesday night. "At 100 jumps, it would seem to be they know what they're doing to a certain degree."

Proctor said people who witnessed Bonitto's fall offered conflicting stories as to whether the woman's parachute opened.

"That's where some of the stories differ," he said.

Some eyewitnesses reported they did not see a parachute open. Others, Proctor said, reported seeing Bonitto perform a "cut-away," detaching herself from the primary parachute in an effort to deploy a back-up canopy.

Proctor said local investigators, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, will investigate the incident.

He said more witnesses would be interviewed, including the pilot of the plane from which Bonitto jumped.

Bonitto was married, and her husband was at the scene Wednesday night. His name was not immediately available.

Proctor said he did not know if Bonitto's husband was a skydiver.

Skydiving injuries and fatal accidents occur sporadically in DeLand, Proctor said, due in part to the sheer volume of participants.

Skydive DeLand officials have previously said they average nearly 85,000 jumps per year.

"There are just a huge number of skydivers in the area," Proctor said.

Two skydivers were reported injured in April, one of them critically.

In April 1999, a French skydiver died after her parachute malfunctioned and failed to open properly. The 55-year-old woman was an experienced skydiver with more than 500 jumps.

2000 News-Journal Corp.