CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker said Bond Springer, 32, never deployed his parachute.
An autopsy Monday revealed that Springer died on impact in midair when he collided with another man 20 seconds after both jumped together from a plane.
That impact happened at a minimum of 140 miles per hour, Tinker said. Springer was killed instantly at roughly 10,000 feet.
The other skydiver, Avalon Wolf, suffered a broken leg in the collision but made it safely to the ground at the Chester County Airport.
Springer, of Florida, had made more than 400 jumps and had more than 10 years of experience as a skydiver. Family members told Channel 9 skydiving was his passion. He leaves a girlfriend and a 3-year-old daughter behind.
Rescue crews began a search for him late Saturday. Emergency officials sent out an automated call to everyone living within two miles of the airport. It made them aware that search teams would be in the area, and they could knock on their door seeking information.
However, darkness and severe weather forced them to call it off around midnight. More than 50 people joined the search, and by Sunday morning, air-scent dogs from Spartanburg were brought in because the terrain would be very difficult to walk or ride.
Ed Darby with Chester County Emergency Management coordinated the effort. He said the one-square-mile search area near the airport was extremely dense.
"It’s not an area you can look over and see somebody. You almost have to walk on top of them to find them," Darby said.
On Sunday morning, a specially trained scent dog that can track without a trail scented on some of Springer's clothes left behind at Skydive Carolina, then found his body in less than an hour.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration sent Channel 9 a statement saying, "The FAA's role in investigating parachute jumping accidents is limited to inspecting the parachute equipment and packing. Our investigation is ongoing."
Wolf is still recovering from his injuries at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill. He did not want to comment about the incident Monday.
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