It looks like something out of a movie as dramatic video captures the moment when two airplanes packed with skydivers collide in a fireball over Superior, Wisconsin.
It happened this past weekend as a Cessna 185 and 182 prepared for a synchronized parachute jump. Immediately after the collision, the 182’s wing ripped away and it began plummeting out of control as a gasoline-fueled fire erupts.
Because the nine skydivers aboard the two airplanes were wearing parachutes and were prepared to jump, they all survived. The pilot of the badly damaged 182 was able to jump as well, using his emergency parachute. The pilot of the Cessna 185 with damage to its propeller and wing managed to land safely, bringing a happy ending to what could easily have been an unthinkable tragedy.
The collision happened on Saturday as the two jump planes flew in formation at 12,000 feet over Superior’s Richard I. Bong Airport. As jumpers in the 185 climb onto the wing strut, video obtained by NBC News shows it closing on the 182 at an angle that would make it difficult for the 185 pilot to see the other airplane and impossible for the 182 pilot to realize what was about to happen.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating the accident.
You can also view the video here.
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