Grounding planes for wind is common at Mile-Hi.Īs the students prepared for their first sky dive, no one at Mile-Hi that windy Saturday voiced any reservations about Braafhart, a weekend tandem instructor who had barely reached the three-jumps-in-three- months qualification to keep his instructor certification up-to-date.īut six days later, Dave Billings, a fellow tandem instructor on the same jump with Seering and Myles, reflected in an online forum on the sky-diving website : “I really wish I would have said ‘Dan-O, perhaps you shouldn’t be jumping today.’ ”ĭaniel Braafhart loved introducing newcomers to his sport. The employees did not tell the first-time sky divers that planes had been temporarily grounded earlier because winds were gusting higher than 25 mph. What employees did not share with Seering and Myles that day was that Joe Magliolio, the most-qualified tandem instructor at Mile-Hi with more than 9,000 sky dives, had decided not to jump any more that day, citing turbulence and the gusting conditions. They learned the basics: arms crossed as you leave the plane. Seering volunteered as the example during their brief orientation, perching on his belly and allowing the instructor to curve his legs upward to illustrate the proper free-fall position. She noted the instructor who led Myles, Seering and two other first-timers through their 10-minute training said they were understaffed that day. “It just seemed so rushed, unorganized,” Myles said. Employees tucked $200 payments into the till, churned out the waivers, filled planes and prepared the soon-to-be-falling newcomers. A steady rotation of nervous first-time tandem jumpers crowded the facility’s main hangar.
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The tandem jumping season was in full bloom as the long winter released its grasp. But those details - a day with gusting winds that challenged veteran sky divers, a part-time instructor who may have been pushing his skills in those conditions and mysterious, last- minute turns dangerously close to the ground - point to deaths that could have been prevented.Īpril 5 was a busy - even chaotic - Saturday at Mile-Hi Skydiving. It was a random yet fatal pairing.Īuthorities and veteran sky divers later deconstructed the crash and judged it a tragic accident in a sport where the risk of death is part of the thrill.ĭetails of the day underscore that risk. Braafhart, a 54-year-old pizza company executive beloved by fellow sky divers, took Seering. As they approached the twin-engine jet-prop airplane shortly after 1 p.m., they watched four tandem instructors land with their students in the field between runways, unbuckle their harnesses and race over to the waiting foursome.Īs the plane’s engine roared to life, one of the instructors said: “Someone raise their hand.” The couple joined two other tandem students on an open trailer for a ride across the tarmac. Myles grabbed his hands, hoping to absorb his bravery. But the people who witnessed what happened over the next 60 minutes and the investigations that followed also raised this painful point: The two people who died April 5 fell victim to both Mother Nature’s bluster and human error. Those sobering words - in bold, uppercase lettering - stand as a reminder that sky diving is dangerous. The couple signed the waivers warning about the possibility of “serious injury” and “death.” The wind was blowing hard enough that Myles’ hair swirled around her face. They arrived at Mile-Hi Skydiving Center on the first Saturday in April. The party was planned: a thrill-of-a-lifetime jump, dinner, dancing, drinks. The 28-year-old Seering had presented Myles with the gift of a tandem sky dive on her 21st birthday. “We concluded we must be a little nuts,” said Allyson Myles, recalling the uneasy talk during that drive north from Seering’s apartment in Arvada. The couple were on their way to jump out of an airplane at Longmont’s Vance Brand Municipal Airport - their first sky-diving experience. Matthew Seering turned to his sweetheart and wondered aloud: “Are we crazy?” Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu
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