2 Planes Carrying Skydivers Crash Midair - Wisconsin [Amazing VIDEO]

I did a search on ATS and it did not show it was posted anywhere...and if it was, not my fault!!!

2 planes carrying skydivers crash midair, all aboard to jump to safety
www.ctvnews.ca...

Mike Robinson was at 12,000 feet (3,650 metres), just seconds away from his last jump of the day, when a second plane carrying other skydivers struck the aircraft he was in, sending everyone tumbling toward the ground.

None of the nine skydivers or two pilots sustained serious injuries when the two planes collided in mid-air Saturday evening in far northwest Wisconsin near Lake Superior. Authorities still didn't know Sunday what caused the accident.

Robinson, an instructor and safety adviser for Skydive Superior, said he and three other skydivers were in a lead plane Saturday, and all four had climbed out onto the step to jump. The plane behind theirs had five skydivers on board, three ready to jump and two still inside the plane.

"We were just a few seconds away from having a normal skydive when the trail plane came over the top of the lead aircraft and came down on top of it," he said. "It turned into a big flash fireball and the wing separated." "All of us knew we had a crash. ... The wing over our head was gone, so we just left," he added.

"Looking around, we're seeing the wing that came off. We're seeing it's on fire and there are just parts of the airplane floating in the air with us," he said. "We were falling faster than those parts ... So the concern was we get away from the crash area."

Robinson said the skydivers had parachutes that allowed them to steer themselves away from the debris, and toward the planned landing spot. They opened their parachutes between 3,000 and 5,000 feet (900 and 1,500 metres) and landed safely.

The pilot of his plane had an emergency parachute that cannot be steered, Robinson said, so he landed elsewhere. He had minor injuries and was taken to the hospital.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig said the lead plane broke into three parts, with debris landing on the airport property and an adjacent retail area.

I listened to the interview with one of the jumpers of the front leading planes on as it happens (cbc program ) amazing all the way around and it reminds me why I am a earth creature ...flying sailing and jumping from real high places is not for me :>)

I hear it all the time: "Why would anyone jump out of a 'perfectly good' airplane?"

Thing is, there's no such thing as a perfectly good airplane!

I'm so very happy all these jumpers got out and to ground safely.

Amazing videos and quite scary, especially with the fireball/explosion.

Thanks for posting this. S+F

Makes me paranoid about the lite planes that fly around my area of a Sunday.

It was a good thing there was no rookie skydiver on board or a tandem jump. That would have been a life altering experience for sure.

I am just glad to hear everyone was alive after the incident and that no one on the ground got killed or injured from the falling plane debris.

They are some very lucky people..

Flying so close together is not safe, you can get shifted by a little gust. It was risky behavior on the part of at least one pilot of the planes, it was done to make something look impressive.

This kind of behavior by a pilot is not good. there should have been more distance between the plane, I was taught of this shifting in flying school, I even experienced being bobbed around in the air. It seems that the media is blowing this up as a near tragedy without saying it could have been avoided if there was more distance between the planes. Someone here should definitely lose their license.

Why so close?....Maybe to film the jump?

reply to post by Skywatcher2011


All escaped death eh! Not for long, have they ever heard of FINAL DESTINATION................wow.....Watch out!

AliceBleachWhite

Thing is, there's no such thing as a perfectly good airplane!

Ha! I think some of our members in the aviation forum would disagree, especially Zaphod!

I personally don't think I could skydive. If I did, it would have to be the style where your chute is pulled as soon as you jump from the plane -- like a paratrooper. No free fall for me!