US Skydivers Survive Plane Collision

plane_crash_2013SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) — No serious injuries are reported after two planes carrying skydivers collided in the air last evening over northwestern Wisconsin.

Mike Robinson, an instructor and safety adviser for Skydive Superior, says it happened at 12,000 feet, as the two planes were flying in a common tandem formation.

Robinson says he and three other skydivers in the lead plane had climbed out onto the step to jump. The plane behind theirs had five skydivers on board, three ready to jump and two still inside the plane.

He says they were “just a few seconds away from having a normal skydive” when the planes collided. The impact caused a fireball and sheared off his plane’s right wing, but all nine skydivers on the two planes were able to jump free.

The pilot of one plane ejected using an emergency parachute and suffered minor injuries. The pilot of the second plane landed safely.

Source: Associated Press