Lynchburg woman dies while skydiving at Orange facility
A Lynchburg woman died last weekend after a "hard landing" while skydiving in Orange County, marking two deaths there in a little over a month.
April Haag, 40, was doing a tandem jump with instructor Douglas Zelbey, 44, of Virginia Beach Saturday around noon, said Sgt. F.L. Tyler of the state police.
Tyler said the pair's parachute opened, but both Haag and Zelbey were injured when they hit the ground near the hangar used by Skydive Orange.
A tandem jump is when an instructor is harnessed behind another jumper during the dive. The instructor helps to guide the parachute during the fall.
"It was just a hard landing," Tyler said.
He said there were witnesses on the ground who saw the landing.
Haag was flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center and died the next day, Tyler said.
Zelbey was taken by ground to the hospital and is in fair condition.
Last weekend's fatality is the second to occur at Skydive Orange in the past two months.
On Sept. 23, Francis Wooten III, 54, of Ruckersville collided in the air with another jumper and the two men's parachutes tangled. Wooten died later at the hospital.
The most recent fatality is being investigated by Trooper B.J. Hobbs, Tyler said. It is still under investigation.
--Ellen Biltz