German parachutist falls to death in Arizona in attempt to do record skydive

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46-year old German Diana Paris was killed due to a malfunctioning parachute as she was joining over 220 others in a free-fall over Eloy, Arizona, on Thursday. The team was set to perform a record breaking 'formation jump.' Diana's husband told the police she had completed an overall of 1,500 jumps in her skydiving career.

Skydive Arizona blamed the ill-fated leap on a malfunctioning parachute that was released too low to the ground to allow a reserve parachute to open. The skydiver was declared dead at the scene. "It had nothing to do with the size of the group or the aircraft," World Team spokeswoman Gulcin Gilbert said, as reported by New York Daily News reports. "It was a malfunction of the parachute."

Having acknowledged what had happened, the parachutists quickly got back to the air and completed a special jump to honor their friend — and planned to continue their pursuit of the record. They planned to keep a spot open in the formation in the victim’s honor:

"Our dear friend cannot and will not be replaced," said Gulcin, whose group organized the ill-fated attempt.

A total of 222 people from 28 countries were to free-fall from about 18,000 feet, do a double formation, then pull their parachutes. The skydivers jumped at such a high elevation that they needed oxygen masks in the airplane, and they hurtled through the air at speeds of more than 100 mph.

Overall, ten airplanes were to hold all the skydivers, who had around 70 seconds to complete the jump before releasing parachutes.

Skydive Arizona, between Phoenix and Tucson, has become one of the world’s top skydiving spots since it opened in the 1980s. The location is ideal for such adventurous pastime as parachuting and skydiving, with clear, sunny skies most days of the year:
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