Harrowing moment navy parachute team member plunges to ground at 90mph during airshow
A Navy airman was left plummeting to the ground at speeds of 90mph when his parachute didn't open during a stunt.
The heart stopping incident took place at the Duluth Airshow in Minnesota on Saturday.
The unidentified member of the US Navy Leap Frog parachute team was was airlifted to the Essentia Health St. Mary's hospital.
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His injuries were deemed critical, but he has since been listed as being in a stable condition.
The trick performed involved two airmen descending to the ground with their legs locked.
They were supposed to disconnect from each other to prepare for a safe landing on the ground, but footage shows that this was delayed.
Crowds can be heard gasping when one of the men hits the ground, as his parachute did not have enough time to gain enough air for a smooth descent.
The medical emergency team landed on the scene at around 2:30pm and took the injured man away.
Although the air show resumed at 2:45pm, the parachute team's further performances were called off.
Jodi Grayson, spokesperson for the Airshow said: "The individual was immediately tended to by emergency personnel and Airlifted to Essentia Health/St. Mary's where he is in stable condition and being treated for his injuries."
Duluth Airshow President, Ryan Kern, gave his regards to the injured performer, his team and his loved ones.
In a statement released on Sunday morning, Kern said: "We are devastated that one of the performers was injured and our thoughts and prayers are with him, his team and his family.
"Our safety and leadership team has an incident plan in place, everyone reacted instantly, and we were able to render care immediately."
Although parachuting is safe for the most part, accidents do happen.
An avid skydiver, Josh Poly, suffered three spinal fractures and snapped his tailbone in half after the crash landing in October 2020.
He was skydiving with friends near his home at the time in Los Gatos, California when the freak incident took place.
A Canadian TikToker, Tanya Pardazi, was killed in a skydiving accident when she apparently opened her parachute too late during the jump.
She was rushed to the hospital but died upon arrival.
Skydive Toronto said in a press statement that Tanya was a 'recent addition' to the skydiving community and had 'released a quickly rotating main parachute at a low altitude without the time/altitude required for the reserve parachute to inflate'.
The company added: "The team at Skydive Toronto Inc. has been profoundly affected by the accident as they have refined their student training program for over 50 years."
Ben Thompson