# Incident 20040704012729I: Erie, PA, July 4, 2004

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 4, 2004, 20:20 local time
- Place: Erie, PA
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Parachute Jumping
- Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
- Location: 42.1166° N, 80.0735° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Erie, PA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.1166&lon=-80.0735&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/20040704012729I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ COLLIDED WITH A UTILITY POLE WHILE APPROACHING THE INTENDED LANDING ZONE. ACCORDING TO QUALIFIED EYEWITNESSES (A FELLOW PARACHUTE JUMPER AND A JUMP PLANE PILOT ON THE GROUND WITHIN 50 FEET OF THE IMPACT SITE), THE MAIN CANOPY HAD PROPERLY DEPLOYED APPROXIMATELY 2000 AGL SEVERAL MINUTES PRIOR TO IMPACT. ^PRIVACY DATA OM^ APPROACH SEEMED NORMAL UNTIL HE WAS OBSERVED TO SINK RAPIDLY AND PREMATURELY WHILE ON SHORT FINAL. HE MANEUVERED TO CLEAR ONE SET OF HIGH-TENSION ELECTRICAL WIRES BUT FAILED TO CLEAR THE SECOND SET OF UTILITY WIRES, COLLIDING WITH AND BREAKING OFF THE TOP 12 FEET OF THE UTILITY POLE. THE PRECEDING JUMPER WAS ABLE TO CLEAR THE WIRES ONLY BY RAISING HIS FEET. THE 2 SUCCEEDING JUMPERS, HAVING OBSERVED THE DIFFICULTY THE FIRST TWO JUMPERS HAD IN CLEARING THE WIRES, CUT THEIR APPROACH SHORTER AND MADE NORMAL LANDINGS WITHOUT DIFFICULTY. WEATHER, AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT, WAS VFR WITH LIGHT SURFACE WINDS. HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE VICINITY AND WITHIN 10 MILES OF THE LANDING SITE. WINDS ALOFT WERE SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER THAN SURFACE WINDS AT THE LAN                                                                       DING SITE. THIS CHANGE IN WIND VELOCITY WITH ALTITUDE IS SUSPECTED TO BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN CAUSING THE INCIDENT. SUBMISSION OF THIS REPORT CLOSES THIS INCIDENT.

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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