Two people died on Sunday during a tandem jump near the Thomaston-Upson County Airport.
They have been identified as 18-year-old Jeanna Renee Triplicata of Newnan and Skydive Atlanta instructor Nick Esposito of Warner Robins. Esposito was 35 years old.
Upson County Sheriff Dan Kilgore said preliminary investigations showed that the primary parachute failed to open properly and there was not enough time for the emergency parachute to fully deploy.
Kilgore said the main parachute went into a spin while the secondary chute deployed at a low altitude and couldn’t stop the descent.
Triplicata and Esposito crashed into a field off Rocky Bottom Road, not far from the airport where Skydive Atlanta operates. They died immediately.
The Sheriff’s Office is looking into the incident with help from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Kilgore said his team collected evidence and they are investigating why the accident occurred. He said the FAA will draw on this information and he was hoping that agency would send an expert to examine the parachutes.
The Sheriff said investigators believe that what happened was a tragic accident and that nothing criminal occurred.
He pointed out Triplicata’s grandmother jumped before her and her jump went well.
Triplicata graduated from Northgate High School this year and she served as the captain of the colorguard for the school’s Viking Band.
She had planned to study education at the University of North Georgia.
Skydiving was on her bucket list and her entire family was on hand to watch.
Meanwhile, Skydive Atlanta said it was working with the FAA and the local authorities to clarify what caused the accident.
The company has been in operation for 35 years.
If you have lost a loved one in a fatal accident, you may be entitled to compensation. An Atlanta wrongful death lawyer can help you.
Source: https://griffindailynews.com/news/44416/two-killed-in-skydiving-accident-in-thomaston/
