# Incident 19980906031139I: Lake Elsinore, CA, September 6, 1998

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 6, 1998, 03:53 local time
- Place: Lake Elsinore, CA
- Phase of flight: Parachute Jumping
- Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
- Location: 33.6681° N, 117.3273° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Lake Elsinore, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6681&lon=-117.3273&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/19980906031139I

## Narrative

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

(-23) IMAE OF CHRISTOPHER DANA GENNARO (SKYDIVER), WHOM ON SEPTEMBER 6, 1998, AT 1500 PDT WAS PARTICIPATING IN ROUTINE SKYDIVING JUMPS WITH THE SKYDIVE ORGANIZATION WHEN ON THE FOURTH JUMP OF THE DAY PLUMMETED TO HIS DEATH. THE JUMP WAS A COORDINATED AND PLANNED JUMP AT 12500' WITH A RIP CHORD PULL EXTRACTION AT 4500' TO 4000'. DATA AND INFORMATION UTILIZED FOR THIS REPORT WAS OBTAINED FROM THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY CORONERS OFFICE, CHIEF DEPUTY CORONER DANIEL A. CUPIDO AND THE REPORTS PROVIDED BY THE ASSOCIATES OF SKYDIVE ELSINORE WHICH PARTICIPATED ON THE JUMP THE DAY OF THE INCIDENT. MR. GENNARO WAS A LICENSED (LIC NO. A-29411) UNITED STATES PARACHUTE ASSOCIATION MEMBER WHO HAD BEEN JUMPING WITH SKYDIVE ELSINORE FOR OVER ONE YEAR WITH NUMEROUS JUMPS DEFINED AND RECORDED AS ACCEPTABLE BY NUMEROUS JUMPMASTERS AND CLEARED FOR FOLLOWING JUMPS. THE TYPE OF EQUIPMENT WORN BY MR. GENNARO AT THE TIME OF THE FATAL ACCIDENT WAS MANUFACTURED BY RI, MODEL TALON, TYPE-3 RING RELEASE WITH RESERVE STATIC LINE AND RESERVE CANOPY MANUFACTURED BY PRECISION, MODEL RAVEN. VERBAL DIALOGUE WITH CHIEF DEPUTY CORONER DANIEL A. CUPIDO ON SEPTEMBER 15, 1998 AT 1000 HOURS INDICATED THAT THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE WHICH LEADS THE CORONERS OFFICE TO BELIEVE THAT THIS CASE WAS SUICIDE. DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CORONERS OFFICE AND CLOSE RELATIVES (MOTHER AND GIRLFRIEND OF DECEASED) REVEALED THAT MR. GENNARO HAD PRIOR SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. THIS OFFICE HAD BEEN ADVISED BY CHIEF DEPUTY CORONER DANIEL A. CUPIDO THAT THE INVESTIGATION FOR THIS CASE CONTINUES AND EXPERTS CLOSURE IN APPROXIMATELY 4 TO 6 WEEKS.

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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