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Skydiver dies after parachute malfunctions

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Posted at 3:28 PM, Oct 04, 2022
and last updated 2022-10-04 15:28:55-04

A person died while skydiving in Florida, authorities said.

The DeLand Police Department said the man's parachute malfunctioned before he made a hard landing.

He was declared dead at the DeLand Municipal Airport Monday just before noon.

An investigation is underway to determine what caused the parachute to malfunction.

While adventurous, skydiving is a relatively safe activity.

The United States Parachute Association recorded more than 3.57 million skydives in 2021. It says there were 10 fatal incidents for the year.

"Each fatality is a heartbreak for the skydiving community, which has collectively taken steps each year to learn from these events and improve the sport," the organization says. "Subsequently, better technology, improvements to equipment and advancements in skydiver-training programs have made the sport safer than ever before."