Parachute Became Entangled With That Of Another Skydiver

A skydiving accident has fatally injured 74-year-old Giles Henderson of Charleston, IL, who was well known around the aviation community in the central Illinois town.

Television Station WICS reports that Taylorville, IL police chief Brian Hile confirmed Henderson's identity.

Henderson was skydiving with an unnamed woman Saturday afternoon. His parachute reportedly became entangled with the woman's chute when it was first deployed. While they were eventually able to untangle the two chutes, Henderson was unable to recover and impacted terrain. The woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital.

Hiles told the television station that Henderson was an experienced skydiver.

Henderson was also an experienced aerobatic pilot. His son Garth posted a notice of his passing on the "Vintage Aerobatics and Air Racing" Facebook page, along with several photos of Henderson flying various airplanes. He began flying in 1959, and was inducted into the IAC Hall of Fame in 2012. He taught himself basic aerobatic maneuvers from WWII flight manuals, according to EAA. Henderson was a four-time Soucy Award recipient, and won IAC Sportsman championship in Fond du Lac, WI in 1971 and 1975.

(Image from Facebook)

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