Feds investigating the death of a Delaware County man who was skydiving in South Jersey
Timothy Joseph Slachta, 48, of Garnet Valley, Pa., was at least the 11th death since 2002 from a plane that departed Cross Keys Airport.
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The Federal Aviation Administration and the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the death of an experienced Delaware County skydiver who died Wednesday afternoon while making a jump over Monroe Township.
Timothy Joseph Slachta, 48, of Garnet Valley, had been skydiving for the last decade, with more than 700 jumps to his name, according to Skydive Cross Keys, the company that operates out of Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown.
“His parachute was deployed at normal altitude upon exiting the airplane and appeared to be fully inflated,” Skydive Cross Keys said in a statement.
Witnesses reported seeing Slachta’s parachute turning, the U.S. Parachute Association said in a statement. “Corrective action to stop the turn did not appear to be initiated, resulting in fatal injuries,” it said.
One resident of the Stirling Glen Development in Monroe Township told 6ABC that he saw the skydiver’s descent about 1:25 p.m. “He was coming down and he was swirling down, it almost looked like he wasn’t awake,” Larry Guagenti told 6ABC.
There have been 11 skydiving deaths reported since 2002 from planes that departed Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown. Skydive Cross Keys has had new ownership since 2016, according to its website.
The most recent accident before Wednesday’s came in 2019, when Paul Haaf, 54, who had jumped more than 1,400 times, fell to his death while skydiving with Skydive Cross Keys. The county medical examiner ruled his death an accident.
Twenty people died in skydiving accidents last year, up from a record low of ten in 2021, according to the U.S. Parachute Association.
Over the last two decades, the most common cause of death was an intentional low turn, according to USPA data. The second-most common was equipment problems. Turns made while skydivers are low to the ground, whether intentional or unintentional, are particularly dangerous.
More than half of the deaths in the last two decades were of skydivers with a “D” license, the most experienced skydivers with at least 500 jumps.
In skydiving accidents, the FAA typically investigates issues relating to parachutes and the aircraft, said spokesperson Mina Kaji. It does not investigate cause of death.