Investigation continues into Lake Wales skydiver death
JM
Investigation continues into Lake
Wales skydiver death
By WILLIAM BYGRAVE
News Chief
LAKE WALES -- Authorities are continuing their
investigation of the
skydiving death of a British tourist that occurred
near the Lake Wales
Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
The victim was identified as Barry Maguire, 22, of
Liverpool, England, who
died after jumping from an airplane 13,000 feet above
the airport.
He was a student at Free Fall Adventures Florida,
which operates at the
airport.
Free Fall Adventures Florida owner Michael Hall said
the victim had only
graduated Sunday and was doing solo jumps -- as all
graduates do -- and
was familiarizing himself with the skydiving
environment.
Hall said Maguire's death was the first fatality the
school has had in its 2 1/2
years at the airport. He added he has been in the
U.S. for five years and had
been an instructor for eight years. Hall has had 17
years' jumping experience.
He described the school's program as an eight-level
course that teaches the
basics of skydiving.
"Primarily our students are from Europe. We operate
year-round and we
have a one-on-one working program. We're very busy
and we're getting a
few hundred students a year," Hall explained.
With 12 students currently taking instruction, he
described the training as
"very personalized."
For that reason, the school only operates in Lake
Wales, and "we're not the
sort of operation that can run several operations in
other places ... safety
being the number one factor."
He called Maguire's death "an unfortunate accident.
He operated the correct
procedures and we're trying to determine exactly what
the sequence was."
As to whether or not new procedures will be required
at the school because
of the accident, Hall said, "When we get the official
report from the FAA and
the rigger, we will make a decision at that time. But
nobody has done anything
wrong. We can't blame the equipment and we can't
blame the student. We
have an extremely good safety record. Our equipment
is maintained to the
highest standards. These incidents are extremely
rare."
The school works with the World Skydiving Center,
where Betty Kabeller is
the operator.
"Betty runs a very good operation," Hall added.
Commenting on the investigation, Polk County
Sheriff's Office spokesman
Sterling Ivey said Maguire's death "appears to be
accidental."
He added, "We'll have someone come in an look at the
parachute to
determine if there was equipment malfunction."
Ivey said if the investigation shows it doesn't
appear to have been a criminal
act, then the FAA will take over.
The accident occurred shortly after 3 p.m.
According a report from the Lake Wales Fire
Department, firefighters were
told by witnesses that the skydiver "was down in a
pasture area on the south
side S.R. 60."
Firefighters, along with personnel from Lake Wales
Police, the sheriff's office,
EMS and skydiving center representatives searched the
area. Firefighters
said the victim was located by air support, who
directed searchers to him.
Maguire was pronounced dead at the scene.
