56-year old skydiving teacher James "Jimmie" Horak Jr. from Pensacola, Florida died Saturday afternoon due to "malfunction" equipment during a tandem jump, leaving his student injured.
Instead of making their landing at Lumberton Airport, the two bodies were found a mile away, in a Mississippi swamp. A hunting lease owner in the area found the bodies. The student, whose name is yet to be released, is gravely injured and had to be airlifted to Forrest General Hospital. Apparently, they told the police that something was already wrong with their equipment.
In an interview with Inquisitr, Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel relays, "They said something appeared to be not right. There appeared to be some entanglement with the lines, but I'm not qualified to say what that was or even speculate about it".
The Federal Aviation Administration states that they will further investigate as to "whether the parachutes were properly rigged by a qualified rigger and whether the parachute operation met FAA regulations, but local authorities will investigate the accident and determine probable cause".
On-ground evidence shows that the skydiving teacher cut off his main parachute and deployed his back up. "Everything else is beyond speculation," Gold Coast Skydivers owner Leanne Igo shares.
Autopsy results is expected to be released anytime today, as his wife Debbie Horak and three children await. "My husband is a very, very skilled skydiver. Very safety-conscious," she said. She further relates that her husband had no medical conditions and described him as "healthy".
A full time physicist's assistant and part time skydiving and pilot instructor, the 56-year old was well known and fondly remembered as a cautious man who always emphasized about safety.
Horak, along with other 20 skydivers took the air that fateful day. "He was a professional instructor who's made over 8,000 jumps in his life," his wife recalls.
Below is a YouTube video posted by the skydiver teacher named James Horak, Jr.
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