SKYDIVE CHICAGO ACCIDENT?

[riggergreg 0]

Does anyone have any info on an accident at skydive chicago On Saturday?

[diverdriver 5]

I will not describe what happened as I did not see it. I will coment on what you can do to not have this happen to you. When you are under canopy you must always look out for yourself. Make sure that the canopies around you are flying in the same direction as you. Be aware that things can change even at 50ft. Look up, down, left and right ALL THE TIME! It takes two to collide. Even when someone isn't paying attention you can still make the correction to save you both.
I lost two friends yesterday. The official report will come out soon. Be patient.
Chris Schindler
D-19012
ATP/CFII

[sblue 0]

I did not know both jumpers but I did know one and she will be missed. If anyone is in Chicago, please convey my deepest condolances to Donovan and the rest of Team Funnel for all of our loss.
Sending prayers,
Shawn

[wildblue 4]

http://www.ottawadailytimes.com/news/story.php?storyid=2852
DAYTON TOWNSHIP - Two people, including an Ottawa woman, plunged to their
deaths Saturday morning in a skydiving mishap north of Ottawa.
Deborah Luhmann, 27, of Ottawa, formerly of Lake in the Hills, and Steven
Smith, 44, of Ohio, Ill., were pronounced dead at 10 a.m. Saturday in the
emergency room at Community Hospital of Ottawa, said La Salle County Coroner
Jody Bernard.
Bernard said witnesses reported Luhmann's and Smith's parachutes became
entangled about 75 to 100 feet above the ground, causing the chutes to
deflate.
Luhmann and Smith landed on Skydive Chicago property, north of the hangar.
The two victims were were part of a 20-person team practicing for a
national competition to be held in a few weeks.
Local weather conditions Saturday were sunny, temperatures were in the
mid-50s and winds were up to 20 mph.
Autopsies were performed Sunday, but the results will not be available for
some time. The La Salle County Sheriff's Department is investigating the
incident.
Luhmann was an experienced, certified skydiver with 200 jumps, according to
her brother, Paul Luhmann, of Chicago. She started skydiving last year and
usually jumped every weekend.
"It was a very freak thing," Paul Luhmann said. "My sister was very
responsible. Skydiving wasn't a stupid thrill for her. Strangely enough, for
a skydiver she wasn't a risk taker. She was very responsible and logical."
Luhmann was engaged to marry Donovan Bartlett, of Ottawa, formerly of
Barrington, on June 22, 2002. She worked as a systems program manager for
Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire.
Skydiving was the latest manifestation of Luhmann's passion for athletics,
according to her brother. She was an All-America swimmer at Denison
University in Ohio and later a swimming coach for the Palatine Park
District.
Paul Luhmann said that although his sister's time was cut short, she packed
a lot of experiences into her life.
"She had so much ahead of her, but had already lived so much."
With the deaths of Luhmann and Smith, 10 people have died in accidents at
Skydive Chicago since the facility opened near Ottawa in 1993. The most
recent previous victim was a Pennsylvania woman who was killed July 9 when
her chute failed to inflate.
------------------------
Note: They were part of a 10-way team, not 20.
Thoughts and prayers to their friends and loved ones.
Then, I saw these two guys swoopin across the pond, and I was like 'weeeeeee!!!!'

[SkyDekker 1,129]

My thoughts and prayers are with their friends and family.
Let them fly in the eternal blue sky......
SkyDekker