Carl Daugherty.Photo: Facebook
A “world-renowned” skydiver widely considered a legend in the sport died in an accident on Sunday following a mid-air collision, authorities said.
Carl Daugherty, 76, was a skydiving veteran who’d recently completed his 20,000th jump, and though retired, he had returned to Skydive DeLand in Florida to work as the director of safety and training, Skydive DeLand owner Bob Hallett told NBC affiliateWESH.
The DeLand Police Department said in anews releasethat officers responded to the DeLand Municipal Airport just before 10 a.m. local time on Sunday after a male parachutist later identified as Daugherty “landed hard in a parking lot and was found unresponsive.”
Witnesses said that two skydivers had collided in mid-air with their parachutes open. The parachutes were tangled in the collision, and while the other person was able to regain control, Daugherty was not, and his parachute did not re-open, according to the release.
Bystanders attempted first aid on Daugherty but were unsuccessful, police said.
“This has been a real kick in the stomach for all of us,” Hallett told WESH, adding that Daugherty had been on a fun jump with seven friends. “It’s hard to place blame, it’s a big sky. It’s a big sky up there, yet we still manage to run into one another.”
The International Skydiving Museum and Hall of Fame mourned Daugherty onFacebookand said that tributes had been pouring in since news of his death broke.
Daugherty’s personal Facebook page was also flooded with tributes from dozens of friends, many of whom called him a mentor and a gift to the sport of skydiving.
One friend called him"a legend of the sky,“while another said his death had sent"shockwaves"through the community that would be felt all the way around the globe.
“One of my first idols in skydiving. Not just for his skills as a multi-record setting, big way formation jumper, but as an icon of cool,” one personwrote.
“There are very few people in the world as legendary as you, Carl H. Daugherty,” addedanother.
source: people.com
