Britt Jones
There are some activities and career paths that are too dangerous for the average Joe to undertake, and even the most experienced in the field can make a tragic mistake.
Whether you like to play extreme sports or you have a hobby which other people call you crazy for, you’ll know that safety means everything.
Usually, in order to risk your life in an adrenaline-fueled activity, there is a lot of training and precautions to take.
Advert
But don’t think that awful events can only happen to the inexperienced.
For example, a highly experienced skydiver sadly lost his life after forgetting a vital piece of equipment - his parachute.
His final words were captured on a recording, after grabbing his camera to film a student and instructor in the air.
Ivan McGuire attended the Franklin County Sports Parachute Centre, US, and was on his third jump of the day in April 1988, but he wasn’t to know that this would be his last.
The 35-year-old didn’t realise that he hadn’t taken his parachute when leaping out of the plane and ended up filming his own demise as the camera continued to record as he fell back down to Earth.
McGuire was an experienced jumper before his death, completing more than 800 in his career.
In the footage recovered, McGuire can be heard shouting ‘oh my god, no’ after presumably attempting to pull on his parachute, which was missing.
The tragic incident was caught on camera, but his impact with the ground is not included in the footage. However his body was later found in the woods approximately one and a half miles from the airfield.
Captain Ralph Brown spoke to UPI after watching the tape: "It kind of appears he reached for his parachute and didn't have one.
"You could only see the instructor and the student falling on the video. But the release for his parachute is on his right hip, and when that right hand goes down, the left-hand goes forward and it comes into camera view. It's kind of boggled in there, and it sounded like he may have said, 'Oh no,' right after his left hand came into view."
At the time of the tragedy, pilot Mark Luman was investigated as it was his duty to check all on board for having parachutes.
Walter Rigsbee, FAA inspector explained: "There is a regulation, No. 105, that states that no one may jump unless the pilot checks the parachutes."
However, the wife of the parachute centre’s owner, Paul Fayard believes that nobody knew.
Nancy Fayard said at the time: "No one was aware that he got on the plane without a parachute. Of course, no one knew or they would have stopped him."
There were investigations as to whether this could have been an intentional move by McGuire, but the DailyStar reported that foul play and suicide were quickly ruled out and it was decided that the skydiver had simply forgotten his parachute which caused his death.
Some believe that McGuire even mistook his camera equipment for his parachute as the weight is around the same.
But it was one mistake which cost him his life, and his tragic death lives on as a precaution to those who board planes with the intention of skydiving today.