Two small planes carrying teams of skydiving instructors and trainers were on their last jump of the day on Saturday, when their lead plane was struck by the trailing plane causing it to tear apart and crash over Superior, Wis. The 9 skydivers and 2 pilots were able to escape the accident with no injuries, according to the Duluth News Tribune.
"The sun was just getting ready to set, it was our last load of the day. It was just a perfect time to be up in the sky," said Mike Robinson, a skydiver who was on the lead plane.
The only minor injury came from the pilot of the crashed plane who had to use an emergency parachute to escape the flaming aircraft. He suffered minor cuts and bruises, while escaping the burning fuselage, as reported by NBC News.
"We were just a few seconds away from having a normal skydive when the trail plane came over the top of the lead aircraft and came down on top of it," Mr. Robinson said.
The skydivers in the lead plane were poised and ready to jump at 12,000 feet when the two planes collided. The lead plane pilot heard a loud bang, then his windshield smashed in front of him. Several of the skydivers were ready to jump or already jumping when the crash occurred, but one skydiver was stuck on the side of the diving aircraft and had to wait for an opportunity to jump, according to CNN.
Skydive Superior posted the following message on their Facebook page, "[We] want to thank all of our friends for your expressions of concern and support during this very difficult time for us. The jumpers and pilots have been through a very surreal experience, and they are lucky and thankful to be alive."
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