By Associated Press
Prattville AL – Prattville police have ruled that the death of a Birmingham skydiver, whose parachute malfunctioned during a jump, was an accident.
Police reports show that Jon McLauren Darnell, 37, died Saturday afternoon after his parachute failed to fully deploy when he jumped from a plane carry a group of skydivers at about 14,000 feet.
Witnesses reported his parachute deployed, but the lines from the canopy to the harness tangled, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. Darnell, who was an experienced skydiver, landed in a field near the airport. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
The accident occurred on the Alabama Skydiving Center's first day of operation from Grouby Field after moving from Pell City to Prattville.