Two Killed In Separate Accidents

The Memorial Day weekend proved to be tragic for the families of two skydivers, who lost their lives in accidents in Kentucky and Ohio.

John Kevin Benningfield, 33, was pronounced dead at a local hospital after a midair collision with another skydiver Saturday evening near Bardstown, KY. Witnesses told the Associated Press the two parachutists were too close to the ground when the collision occurred for their respective parachutes to reinflate.

The second skydiver involved in the collision, Chris Snellen, suffered a broken leg after landing in a tree.

Both Snellen and Benningfield were accomplished jumpers, according to Kenn Heismann, an owner of Greene County Sport Parachute Center.

"Both of them had hundreds and hundreds of jumps," Heismann said.

The second incident -- this one in Sterling, OH -- involved a first-time jumper who fell to the ground after she somehow slipped out of the harness connecting her with her tandem jump partner.

Ellen Ann McWilliams, 42, was participating in the tandem jump Saturday with an instructor from AerOhio Skydiving, according to the AP.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Office did not release any further details on the accident, other than confirming McWilliams slipped out of the harness during the jump.

(Editor's note: an Aero-News analysis of this tragic accident is available here.)

FMI: www.skydiveky.com, www.jumptoday.com