One Person Killed In Skydiving Accident At Crete Airport | National News

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

One person was killed Thursday afternoon when a pair of skydivers conducting a tandem jump crashed to the ground at the Crete Airport.

In a news release, Crete Police Lt. Gary Young said witnesses reported that the skydivers exited an aircraft operated by Skydive Atlas and their parachute fully deployed. "For unknown reasons, the pair did not sufficiently slow their descent as they approached the ground," Young said.

The man who was killed has not been identified. Romulo Suarez, 56, of Crete, was taken to Bryan West Campus with life-threatening injuries. Police described Suarez as a "experienced parachutist."

In tandem jumps, an experienced parachutist instructor typically is paired with a passenger who signs up and undergoes some limited pre-flight training.

SkyDive Atlas offers what its website describes as "the only professional tandem skydiving operation in the state of Nebraska."

Sean Tillery, who owns SkyDive Atlas, offered thoughts to affected families.

"We are very sad and our hearts and thoughts go out to the families," he wrote.

Tillery said the company will cooperate with the Crete Police Department and the Federal Aviation Administration in their investigation of the accident.

In a Facebook post, the Crete News reported that Tillery said "a dust devil" may have contributed in the accident. In Lincoln, 30 miles from the Crete Airport, wind gusts of more than 30 mph were reported between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

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Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com.

Originally published on journalstar.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.

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