Plane Smacks Skydiver In Air

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Skydiver Hits Plane And Dies

Deland, Florida -- A skydiving cinematographer was killed after his legs were severed in a midair collision with the airplane he had jumped from, authorities said.

Albert "Gus" Wing III had already deployed his parachute Saturday when he struck the left wing of the DHC-6 Twin Otter propeller plane at about 600 feet, a witness on the ground told police.

Both of Wing's legs were severed at the knees, but he managed to maneuver his parachute and land near the DeLand Airport, about 40 miles north of Orlando, DeLand Police Cmdr. Randel Henderson said.

He was airlifted to a hospital, where he later died, Henderson said.

Fourteen other skydivers were in the air at the time of the accident, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker said. The plane landed safely.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.

Mike Johnston, general manager of Skydive DeLand, said the accident was not common.

"There are about 15 million jumps every year," Johnston told The Daytona Beach News-Journal. "I only know of one other case where a sky diver was struck by an airplane."

Authorities said they were not certain whether Wing had been filming at the time of the accident and no camera was found.

Wing owned a production company, Flying Wings Production, according to the Web site of the company that organized Saturday's jump, Skydive DeLand.