# Incident 19970308009039I: Franklin, IN, March 8, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 8, 1997, 16:18 local time
- Place: Franklin, IN
- Airport: Franklin Flying Field Airport
- Phase of flight: Parachute Jumping
- Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
- Location: 39.4264° N, 86.0583° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FRANKLIN FLYING FLD (3FK), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.4264&lon=-86.0583&mi=10
- Aircraft: UNKNOWN (not matched to a registry record)
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 1
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970308009039I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON MARCH 8, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 1618 HOURS (LOCAL), MR. GARY L. ZIEGLER, HOLDER OF A UNITED STATES PARACHUTE ASSOCIATION LICENSE NUMBER C-12358 PERFORMED A PARACHUTE JUMP FROM 8400 FEET MSL TO GROUND. MR. ZIEGLER PERFORMED THIS JUMP ALONG WITH MR. VAN BLAIRCUM A CLASS A JUMPER. BOTH JUMPERS WERE TO PERFORM A TWO WAY SKYDIVE, AS THE JUMPERS APPROACHED EACH OTHER MR. ZIEGLER PASSED OVER MR. VAN BLAIRCUM MAKING STRAIGHT CONTACT AGAINST MR. VAN BLAIRCUM'S FEET. AT 4000 FEET MSL THE JUMPERS WAIVED EACH OTHER OFF AND TURNED 180 DEGREES TO EACH OTHER TO DEPLOY THEIR PARACHUTES (3000 FEET MSL). MR. VAN BLAIRCUM STATED THAT MR. ZIEGLER WAS BELOW HIM WITH A GOOD CANOPY AND WAS IN A CONTROLLED SPIRAL SPIN. MR. VAN BLAIRCUM MADE A 360 DEGREE SPIRAL SPIN TO HIS RIGHT, HE LOOKED BACK AT MR. ZIEGLER AND SAW THAT HIS MAIN CHUTE HAD BEEN CUT AWAY, APPROXIMATELY THREE SECONDS LATER, HE OBSERVED MR. ZIEGLER IMPACTING THE GROUND. ^PRIVACY DATA OMIT^ WAS A WITNESS ON THE GROUND WHO STATES THAT HE OBSERVED MR. ZIEGLER ON THE DOWN WIND LEG OF HIS LANDING AT APPROXIMATELY 100+ FEET FROM THE GROUND WHEN MR. ZIEGLER PULLED THE MAIN RELEASE HANDLE AND DID NOT PULL HIS RESERVE RIPCORD.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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