# Incident 20020323004449I: Louisa, VA, March 23, 2002

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 23, 2002, 13:30 local time
- Place: Louisa, VA
- Airport: Louisa County/Freeman Field Ap
- Phase of flight: Parachute Jumping
- Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
- Location: 38.0098° N, 77.9701° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at LOUISA COUNTY/FREEMAN FLD (LKU), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.0098&lon=-77.9701&mi=10
- Aircraft: UNKNOWN (not matched to a registry record)
- Fatal injuries: 1
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020323004449I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON SATURDAY MARCH 23, 2002, AT 1330 LOCAL, AT THE LOUISA COUNTY, VIRGINIA, AIRPORT, ROBERT KRESGE WAS JUMPING WITH SKYDIVE VIRGINIA WHEN HIS PARACHUTE COLLAPSED AT 100 TO 50 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE SKYDIVER STRUCK THE SURFACE OF THE PAVED TAXIWAY AND WAS FATALLY INJURED. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE JUMP WAS NORMAL UNTIL AFTER THE JUMPER TURNED TOWARD THE LANDING ZONE. WITNESSES SAID THAT THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PARACHUTE COLLAPSED FIRST, THEN THE REMAINDER COLLAPSED. SEVERAL WITNESSES REPORTED GUSTY WINDS. ACCORDING TO THE LEESBURG, VIRGINIA FLIGHT SERVICE STATION, AT THE TIME OF THE JUMP, THE LKU AWOS REPORTED WINDS WERE 12 KNOTS AND GUSTING TO 20 KNOTS. THE PARACHUTE WAS A PRECISION AERODYNAMICS, INC. MODEL XA0S-21, SN 81139909. IT HAD A SURFACE AREA OF 68 SQUARE FEET. THE MANUFACTURER SAYS THE XAOS-21 IS A HIGH PERFORMANCE WING AND RECOMMENDS A MINIMUM EXPERIENCE OF 500 ELLIPTICAL RAM-AIR JUMPS. MAXIMUM OPERATING WEIGHT LIMITATION IS 170 LBS. (HTTP://PRECISION.AERODYNAMICS.COM/GROUND_ZERO/PAGES/XAOS21.HTM). MR. KRESGE'S ADDRESS IS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WITNESSES SAY MR. KRESGE WAS AN EXPERIENCED JUMPER AND HAD ABOUT 50 JUMPS WITH THIS PARACHUTE.

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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