Skydiving has been a popular past time for thrill seekers for decades and is likely a riveting experience.
But for those who crave thrills, you can jump to your heart’s content; nevertheless, it comes with inherent risks.
But there was this one time in the 1980s when a guy forgot his, and it ended tragically.
In April 1988, Ivan Lester McGuire was filming a parachuting lesson at 10,500 feet in the air, with a student and an instructor from the Franklin County Sport Parachute Center in North Carolina.
In the video, McGuire can be seen jumping out of the plane ahead of the student, aiming to capture the student’s jump on film.
Then, a moment of crushing realization dawns on him as he comprehends that he is plunging towards the Earth without any means to halt his descent.
The incident was quite shocking because McGuire was known as an experienced skydiver with over 800 jumps under his belt.
Officials thought maybe he was just tired or not fully focused on that particular jump.
FAA inspector Walter Rigsbee commented back then: ‘We haven’t gotten all the facts yet.”
At the time, Nancy Fayard, the wife of parachute center owner Paul Fayard, told AP: “No one was aware that he got on the plane without a parachute.”
Even the pilot, Mark Luman, got questioned during the investigation, but they quickly ruled out suicide.
McGuire passed away at 35, and they found his body about a mile from where the plane had taken off.
