Perris Valley Skydiving via You Tube.
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| The late Patrick McGowan (Photo from Skydive University Website) |
www.Economy4ABC.Blogspot.com
March 31, 2011
11:17 p.m.
Perris, CA
The perfect crystal clear blue sky above the Inland Empire turned into a nightmare on Thursday.
Two well respected and well loved men died after colliding midair in during a routine skydiving accident at the Perris Valley Airport late Thursday afternoon.
Patrick McGowan and Chris Stasky have been identified by coroner officials as being killed on the scene of the famed training airfield after they were completing a so called "military training exercise" called "flying the canopy."
The sky-divers free-fell approximately 200 to 300 feet before hitting the ground, according to Riverside County firefighters who responded to the scene.
Tonight friends and family are mourning their loss. Stasky and McGowan were both professional sky diving instructors with tens of thousands of hours in the sky. "Flying the canopy" is a routine (correct me if I am wrong, please in my comment section) when skydivers ride on top of or near each others "canopy's.") I found this clip of You Tube that shows that exercise.
I tried skydiving one time in Las Vegas. I never got out of the air tunnel simulator because I broke my ankle before I ever got out of the classroom. Skydivers are a "special type" of person. They are full of passion. and they love their sport.
My heart goes out to everyone in this tight-knit community who has lost two incredible friends. Please, share your thoughts below this post. Do you have a special memory of Patrick or Chris? Have you ever skydived? Have you ever been in a near accident while skydiving?
Both were 42 years old. Incredible loss.
11 comments:
Pat was my friend. He was incredible in EVERY THING he did. I am so so sad.
I cannot believe this horrible news.
I jump out of Perris all the time. This can happen, but NOT to people as experienced as these two INCREDIBLE PROFESSIONALS. Makes you wonder why God took these two men from us on a PERFECTLY BEAUTIFUL BRIGHT BLUE SKY! RIP
I feel awful.
Very sad accident.
Am pretty sure that picture is NOT Patrick.
Pat was my son's instructor and he was such a nice guy. So sorry to hear about this tragic news! My family sends their love to his family and friends!
Yes, quite a tragic event.
I broke my ankle skydiving but love it and will continue to jump. 52 jumps so far.
You are not correct in your article. 17,000 jumps is not "tens of thousands of hours in the sky" the freefall lasts for 60 seconds each jump. even counting a couple minutes under canopy they do not have tens of thousands of hours in the sky.
Chris was a wonderful man. He loved living on the edge and took everyone with him. He was the best guy anyone could have know. The world is missing a great human being. RIP
You are incorrect about "flying your canopy" being what the people in the video are doing. While Yes they are flying their canopies, this is a special area called CRW, or canopy relative work. Not everyone in the sport does this form of canopy piloting, in fact the video you posted is, or was at the time it was made, the world record CRW jump. "flying your canopy" can be simply flying your canopy.
What, exactly, is a "routine skydiving accident"? Like this sort of thing just happens every day?
Also, I'm pretty sure that every single jump can be considered a "near accident". Y'know?
I HAVE MADE A FEW JUMPS IN THE PAST WITH PATRICK
HE WAS ACCORDING TO ALL A GREAT GUY THOUGH I DIDN'T KNOW HIM WELL
HE ALWAYS SEEMED OUTSTANDING WITH HIS STUDENTS FOR WHAT I OBSERVED
AND THE PREVIOUS POST FROM "STEVE" COULDN'T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH
EVERY SKYDIVE ISN'T A "NEAR ACCIDENT" HE OBVIOUSLY ISN'T A JUMPER, SKYDIVING IS A MUCH SAFER THAN DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY TO GET TO YOUR LOCAL DROPZONE
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