Skydiver in hospital after 'unorthodox' approach

The skydiver is lifted to a waiting ambulance. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

A skydiver was lucky to escape with just a pulled muscle after he mistimed his landing and hit the ground with force at Rotorua Airport on Friday.

Witness Bruce De Vorms said the skydiver appeared to be descending quicker than normal before he "bounced" into the air just before hitting the ground.

The man, who has more than 1200 skydives under his belt, is a cameraman for NZONE Tandem Skydive, which has branches in Rotorua and Queenstown.

Owner Robyn Williams said the man was taking a sports jump when he took an "unorthodox approach when coming in to land".

Instead of landing into the wind - the standard approach to slow down the diver - the man turned and landed with the wind. He was taken to hospital with suspected neck and spine injuries but was discharged soon after.

The Civil Aviation Authority is handling the investigation.

Bill Sommer, the authority's spokesman, said reports would be obtained from all involved to see if any lessons could be learned.

"It's not a matter of blame and prosecution - we want to know if we can learn lessons from it and reduce the risk of it happening again," he said. "Skydiving accidents are a very rare occurrence."

Neither the Department of Labour nor the New Zealand Parachute Industry Association plans to investigate the incident.

In January 2006 a tourist from Northern Ireland was injured after she was blown off course during a tandem dive with Skydive Taupo. She was treated at Rotorua Hospital for three cracked vertebrae.

In December that same year a man jumping with the Freefall Skydiving Centre in Taupo plummeted into blackberry bushes at Five Mile Point. He was found unconscious in the bushes with a leg injury.

Earlier this year skydiver James Boole suffered extensive injuries, including a broken back, a punctured lung and several broken ribs when he forgot to open his parachute while filming a jump in Russia.

He slammed into the ground after a 1800m freefall. Only the thick covering of snow saved the 31-year-old.

- ROTORUA DAILY POST