A Pensacola Beach skydiver died Thursday after falling 11,000 feet when his parachutes failed. John Foster, 37, was videotaping a tandem pair of skydivers - an instructor and a student - about 2 p.m. when his main parachute became entangled with his reserve chute, and both failed to open. He landed in a field in Elberta, Ala., after the plunge. "I was on the phone calling 911 before he hit the ground," said Pat Stack, 42, of Pensacola. Stack, who works for Emerald Coast Skydiving, was the drop zone manager for the jump. She was on the ground during the jump and said she saw Foster fall. The group had taken off from Horak Field in Elberta. Foster was taken by BaptistFlight to Baptist Hospital, where he died about four hours later. Hospital spokeswoman Karen Smith said Foster suffered injuries to his head and both legs, but she could not elaborate. Tricia Speziale, a friend of Foster's, said Foster deployed his main chute at 2,500 feet, but it got tangled in the camera on his helmet. He tried to cut away the main chute but could not get it completely cleared. As he deployed his reserve chute at 1,000 feet, it got tangled up in the main chute, Speziale said. Stack said the chutes getting tangled was a freak accident. "It's just not something that happens," she said. Lt. Charlie Jones of the Sheriff's Office in Baldwin County, Ala., was one of the responders. "When we arrived," Jones said, "there was already an ambulance on the scene, and he was fading in and out of consciousness. "We understand he was extrememly critical when he left Baldwin County." Stack said Foster was a very experienced skydiver, having made 6,000 to 7,000 jumps. He was the primary photographer for Emerald Coast Skydiving, which is based in Elberta, and often was hired to record other divers' jumps. Stack said Foster also worked as a model. "He jumped all the time. He loved the sport," Stack said. "He was a great guy." Rich Cobler/Emerald Coast Skydiving;: "What happened with John was totally an unusual thing. I've been skydiving for 35 years. I have only seen one other incident where both chutes malfunctioned on the same jump and the person died because of it." Read more at: www.wear3.com www.pensacolanewsjournal.com
