Skydiver Dies On His First Wingsuit Flight After Both His Parachutes Fail To Open

An experienced skydiver has died on his first jump wearing a wingsuit after both of his parachutes failed to open.

According to 7 News, Mark Hanna from Melbourne died on Sunday (10 July) morning while taking part in a new flying course over Torquay, Victoria.

With 300 previous jumps under his belt, the 34-year-old had plenty of skydiving experience, although it was his first time wearing a wingsuit, which is a kind of jumpsuit with extra webbing that gives the wearer a longer falling time.

He had been making his first wingsuit jump under expert supervision.

Investigators say that both the main parachute and the reserve chute failed to open, leaving Hanna unable to slow his fall.

They are continuing to look into the circumstances surrounding Hanna's death in an attempt to determine exactly what happened.

He was declared dead at the scene after his coach landed nearby unharmed and was able to raise the alarm on the tragic disaster.

7 News

Hanna's friends and family have paid tribute to him, with friend David calling him 'the most humble and nicest guy' who had 'the best smile'.

Hanna's twin brother Andrew said he was 'lost for words' after the tragic death.

He said: "The bond that we had being twins growing up, all the mischief that we got up to, we knew that we could always count on each other no matter what."

Australian Parachute Federation CEO Richard McCooey said the investigators 'know very little' at this point beyond the initial facts that a man has sadly died and that 'it appears the man failed to deploy either of his parachutes'.

He lamented the 'awful situation' and offered his thoughts to Mark's family and friends, who are having to come to terms with his death.

While every effort is made to ensure skydivers are as safe as possible, there is always going to be some risk involved with jumping out of a plane.

One recent narrow escape involved a pair of skydivers who fell to the ground after their parachutes malfunctioned. Both of the individuals involved survived, but it's terrifying how much of a close shave they had.

Alamy

If, somehow, you ever find yourself in a situation where you're skydiving and both parachutes have failed, you should get your body into an 'X' formation to slow your descent.

Then you need to look for relatively soft places to land like trees, snow or marshy ground, and definitely not water which can feel as hard as concrete if you smack into it from a 10,000ft drop.

Right before you hit the ground, you're supposed to pull up into a standing position so you can land on your feet, which will almost certainly get injured in the impact.

It's absolutely no guarantee of survival, but given how rare it is for both parachutes to fail, there's always a chance you might live to tell the tale.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677