Victim's Second Jump Of The Day Proves Fatal

A 22-year-old parachutist was lost at the Sebastian Municipal Airport Friday afternoon, succumbing to impact after becoming detached from his parachute during his second jump of the day.

Tommy Schmidt of Vero Beach witnessed the accident from a half-mile away. "I saw two on a parachute and one detached and fell," he said. "I heard screaming as the individual fell to the ground. Then I heard an ambulance. The man was on the ground motionless."

Detective Ron Carlson identified the deceased as Daniel R. Kulpa, of Cranbury, NJ, and said he was skydiving with friends at Skydive Sebastian, based at Sebastian Municipal Airport (X26) on Florida's east coast. "It could have been user error, but at this time we don't know," Carlson said.

"People jump everyday from (Skydive Sebastian), and they just don't have that many accidents," Carson said, adding that there was nothing suspicious about the condition of Kulpa's parachute. "Everything was perfectly intact," he said.

The parachute used by the deceased will be examined by the FAA as part of the official investigation into the incident, the Treasure Coast Palm reported.

Joe Griffin, Sebastian Municipal Airport manager, said Skydive Sebastian "has a great safety record. Occasionally, there is a strained ankle or broken leg. That is to be expected with the amount of skydiving (around the airport). It is a high-risk sport."

There have been only three other serious accidents reported since 2001 at Skydive Sebastian. Office manager Amanda Owens said Kulpa was an experienced skydiver with more than 100 jumps to his credit. "It's a very sad time and everybody will learn for this," she said.

FMI: www.skydiveseb.com, www.faa.gov