Massachusetts man injured in skydiving accident; fall with ‘extremely hard impact’ – NECN

A Massachusetts man was seriously injured in a skydiving accident in Maine on Monday when he made a hard landing.

Manny Silva, 57, of Dartmouth, was injured shortly before noon Monday in a serious fall following complications while skydiving in Lebanon, Maine. He was taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, the York County Sheriff's Office said. He was conscious, alert and responsive when emergency responders arrived.

Silva, who jumped with Skydive New England, was unable to pull out, the maneuver used to slow down before landing, and after ending active flight at 300 feet, he hit the ground hard.

Monday was not Silva's first skydive. He has already jumped 33 times, the company said.

“According to witnesses, the skydiver's free fall and parachute deployment occurred normally, with no signs of equipment malfunction. Observers noted that the parachute functioned as expected throughout the descent,” Skydive New England said in a statement to News Center Maine.

“We are grateful to our highly trained staff, local emergency responders and the community at large for their rapid response and overwhelming support during this incident,” the company added.