Ramya, who was a software developer, with Vinod.
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SALEM: A 26-year-old woman skydiver plunged to death from a height of 10,000 feet on Thursday when her parachute malfunctioned after she dived from an aircraft over Salem airport.
Adventure enthusiast V Ramya was told by instructors to pull the cord on the parachute at 6,000 feet but was unable to spread it open after she jumped from an aircraft over Omalur near Salem, police said.
Ramya's husband Vinoth (28) was on the ground awaiting his turn to dive when she fell. The couple was from Bangalore and members of the Indian Skydiving and Parachute Association. They had practised at Salem for nearly a week along with several others before attempting a dive from such a height, police said. Vinoth runs a software firm while Ramya was a homemaker.
Ramya, accompanied by two skydiving trainers, Mohan Rao (38) and Aishwarya Yadav (33), took off in a four-seater Cessna aircraft from Salem at 11am. "Once they touched 10,000 feet, the instructors asked Ramya to jump," Vinoth said.
They quickly followed her. "She was supposed to open the parachute once she reached 6,000 feet. But when she tried, it didn't open properly. Instead, it started to spin around her body due to heavy winds," Vinoth added.
Skydivers drop at a speed of 1,000 feet every five seconds before the parachute opens, an equivalent of 220 kms per hour. Once they open the parachute, the speed gradually decreases and they are able to make a soft landing. In Ramya's case, she hit the ground in less than a minute after jumping from the aircraft.
The instructors told the police that they tried to give instructions through the headphones she was wearing to make her pull the cord on the emergency parachute, but Ramya was unable to react. She eventually did pull the cord on the emergency chute, but within 200 feet of the ground which left little time to break her fall.
Ramya was rushed to a private hospital near Omalur where doctors declared her dead. The instructors were taken into custody and booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Vinoth told the police no one on the ground had given his wife instructions on what to do when a parachute fails to open even though she was using a micro-headphone. "Usually, someone would instruct us while we practised skydiving. But in her case, no one guided her and they all fled the scene after seeing this incident," he alleged.
The police registered a case and further investigations were on. "ISPA authorities have gone into hiding after this incident. We have launched a search for them," Omalur inspector S Kumaresan added.
Bangalore-based ISPA had conducted skydiving practice sessions at Salem airport since January 25, police said. There were 11 people, including five women, in the team. ISPA had permission from Airport Authority of India, district administration and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL), which owned the Cessna plane. ISPA charged Rs 15,500 for every 3,000-feet dive and Rs 41,500 for a 10,000 feet jump.
"Initially the ISPA authorities provided ground-based training. Then, they allowed us to jump from 3,000 ft," Aswath Narayanan, one of the participants, told TOI. He said those who had completed skydiving from 3,000 feet successfully were allowed to take a plunge from dive from 10, 000 feet.
"Based on Vinoth's complaint, we have registered a case under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against four persons including A Ankita (28), executive secretary of ISPA, Mohan Rao, (trainer), Aishwarya Yadav (trainer) and N Rajesh (42), an external trainer," Kumaresan said. Ankita was remanded in judicial custody and lodged at Salem Central prison.
Adventure enthusiast V Ramya was told by instructors to pull the cord on the parachute at 6,000 feet but was unable to spread it open after she jumped from an aircraft over Omalur near Salem, police said.
Ramya's husband Vinoth (28) was on the ground awaiting his turn to dive when she fell. The couple was from Bangalore and members of the Indian Skydiving and Parachute Association. They had practised at Salem for nearly a week along with several others before attempting a dive from such a height, police said. Vinoth runs a software firm while Ramya was a homemaker.
Ramya, accompanied by two skydiving trainers, Mohan Rao (38) and Aishwarya Yadav (33), took off in a four-seater Cessna aircraft from Salem at 11am. "Once they touched 10,000 feet, the instructors asked Ramya to jump," Vinoth said.
They quickly followed her. "She was supposed to open the parachute once she reached 6,000 feet. But when she tried, it didn't open properly. Instead, it started to spin around her body due to heavy winds," Vinoth added.
Skydivers drop at a speed of 1,000 feet every five seconds before the parachute opens, an equivalent of 220 kms per hour. Once they open the parachute, the speed gradually decreases and they are able to make a soft landing. In Ramya's case, she hit the ground in less than a minute after jumping from the aircraft.
The instructors told the police that they tried to give instructions through the headphones she was wearing to make her pull the cord on the emergency parachute, but Ramya was unable to react. She eventually did pull the cord on the emergency chute, but within 200 feet of the ground which left little time to break her fall.
Ramya was rushed to a private hospital near Omalur where doctors declared her dead. The instructors were taken into custody and booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Vinoth told the police no one on the ground had given his wife instructions on what to do when a parachute fails to open even though she was using a micro-headphone. "Usually, someone would instruct us while we practised skydiving. But in her case, no one guided her and they all fled the scene after seeing this incident," he alleged.
The police registered a case and further investigations were on. "ISPA authorities have gone into hiding after this incident. We have launched a search for them," Omalur inspector S Kumaresan added.
Bangalore-based ISPA had conducted skydiving practice sessions at Salem airport since January 25, police said. There were 11 people, including five women, in the team. ISPA had permission from Airport Authority of India, district administration and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL), which owned the Cessna plane. ISPA charged Rs 15,500 for every 3,000-feet dive and Rs 41,500 for a 10,000 feet jump.
"Initially the ISPA authorities provided ground-based training. Then, they allowed us to jump from 3,000 ft," Aswath Narayanan, one of the participants, told TOI. He said those who had completed skydiving from 3,000 feet successfully were allowed to take a plunge from dive from 10, 000 feet.
"Based on Vinoth's complaint, we have registered a case under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against four persons including A Ankita (28), executive secretary of ISPA, Mohan Rao, (trainer), Aishwarya Yadav (trainer) and N Rajesh (42), an external trainer," Kumaresan said. Ankita was remanded in judicial custody and lodged at Salem Central prison.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/26-yr-old-skydiver-falls-10000-feet-to-her-death/articleshow/29621609.cms
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