Skydiver killed in high-risk manoeuvre

By Shaun Smillie and Laura Lopez Gonzalez http://www.iol.co.za/

A split-second error in judgment appears to have caused the death of an experienced Gauteng skydiver. Eric "Tonto" Stephenson, 45, who had completed more than 5 300 jumps, died at Carletonville on Sunday while performing a difficult landing manoeuvre.Stephenson was attempting "swooping" or canopy piloting, a discipline within skydiving known for its difficulty. According to Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman, the accident happened just before 10am on Sunday at the Johannesburg Skydiving Club drop zone.Paramedics, who were first on the scene, attempted to resuscitate Stephenson but he died at the scene.Witnesses said Stephenson had deployed his parachute after exiting the plane.

"It appears that Eric made a small but fatal error of judgment. He touched down before he had bled off all his speed," explained Mark Bellingan, the national safety and training officer at the Parachute Association of South Africa. Bellingan explained that swooping entails the skydiver jumping out of the plane, opening his chute and swooping over a course. His speed, distance and accuracy are measured.Stephenson, said Bellingan, was using a high-performance parachute at the time, especially designed for the sport of swooping. "Only skydivers who have completed at least 1 000 jumps are allowed to take part in swooping," said Bellingan."We're not talking about a chaos kid here; we're talking about someone who was very safety-conscious and a professional, who was well respected in the field," Bellingan said.

Stephenson was listed as the accelerated freefall and birdman instructor at the Johannesburg Skydiving Club. According to the club's website, he was a member of the South African skydiving team up until 1997.He represented South Africa at the world championships in Australia in 1994. The Civil Aviation Authority will be launching an investigation into the accident. "He wanted to go fast. He knew the associated risk and he embraced that risk 100 percent," added Bellingan.

Stephenson leaves his partner and two children.

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on October 29, 2007