‘Shock and horror’: Skydiver dies after trying to deploy emergency parachute

The extreme sport was always something Jasmine Black wanted to do, but she waited until she was 40 — and her two sons had grown up — to start, her family said. Her sons, both adults, even joined her on a few jumps but were not there Saturday.

Credit: Jasmine Black's family

Credit: Jasmine Black's family

Black’s death is the third fatality at the same Skydive Atlanta site since 2020. Nationwide last year, there were 9 skydiving deaths from an estimated 3.88 million jumps, according to data reported by the United States Parachute Association.

It was about 4 p.m., when Jasmine Black and at least one other skydiver began free-falling above the Skydive Atlanta drop zone at the Thomaston-Upson County Airport, roughly 60 miles south of downtown Atlanta.

The first moments went normally, Skydive Atlanta said in a statement. The company, which offers adventures for jumpers with a range of experiences, has been in business for more than three decades, according to its website.

As the skydivers deployed their parachutes, Jasmine Black’s parachute “struck the parachute of another skydiver,” Upson County Sheriff Dan Kilgore said. At that point, they were 800 feet in the air, the company detailed.

That collision resulted in “an entanglement that lasted several seconds,” the company added. Jasmine Black then initiated an emergency procedure to cut away her main parachute and attempted to deploy her backup, according to the sheriff and the company.

“Unfortunately, there was not sufficient altitude for the reserve parachute to fully inflate,” Skydive Atlanta said.

By 4:22 p.m., sheriff’s deputies were called to the tarmac, where they found her body. The second skydiver landed without injury, authorities said.

“The entire skydiving community feels the weight of any loss within the sport, and this tragedy is no exception,” the company said in its statement. “Skydive Atlanta extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Jasmine Black. The team is grieving alongside all those affected.”

No other details about the incident have been released by authorities. The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting its own investigation. The agency does not determine what caused an incident, but it will look at whether there were any regulatory violations, the FAA told the AJC.

Carol Black said her daughter was “full of life” and “determined to enjoy life and family” more in recent years. Jasmine Black worked hard at her job as a manager at Caterpillar Logistics and enjoyed visiting family, the majority of whom live in the Carolinas.

Her two mixed-breed dogs, Bobber and Hazel, lived with her in Henry County and are missing her as the family figures out the next steps, Carol Black said.

“They know something is up, and it makes me sad because she’ll never be back,” Carol Black said.

In 2020, two other skydivers were killed at the same Skydive Atlanta site.

Jeanna Renee Triplicata, 18, and her instructor, Nick Esposito, 35, died when their primary parachute didn’t open properly and they went into a spin, Kilgore said that July 12. An attempt to deploy the emergency parachute was unsuccessful because of the “extremely low altitude” that did not allow it to fully open, he said.

Esposito was also an experienced skydiver and was conducting a tandem jump with Triplicata. The two were attached to a parachute rig when they fell to their deaths in a field on Rocky Bottom Road near the airport.

Since 2020, an average of 12 people have died while skydiving each year, according to the parachute association. That number represents fewer than 1% of skydiving jumps, and it has dropped drastically since the 1970s, the group reports. An average of 42 people died per year that decade.