What happened to Terry Gardner? 73-year-old Arizona man's skydiving accident explored

A 73-year-old man died in a skydiving accident after his parachute failed to fully open during his jump. According to authorities, the crash took place on Wednesday, January 31, shortly after 12 pm local time at Skydive Arizona, which is situated in Eloy, Arizona, around 70 miles south of Phoenix.

The police noted that Gardner had "unexpected complications" with his parachute, which did not fully deploy, leading to a hard landing, as per ABC15. The publication reported that Gardner had retired from Casa Grande Elementary School District, where he taught computer lessons.

The incident is currently under investigation and Gardner's parachute will undergo an FAA inspection.

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Terry Gardner died in a skydiving accident after he attempted a formation jump

Terry Gardner died in a skydiving accident (Image via Pexels)

Terry Gardner, 73, of Casa Grande, along with three of his friends, were scheduled to make their third skydiving jump of the day, according to Eloy Police. The team of skilled skydivers had coordinated a collective formation jump from approximately 14,000 feet.

However, according to the authorities, things didn't go as planned during the formation, and tragedy struck soon after Gardner attempted to open his parachute. As per NBC, they stated that "unexpected complications" led to a "hard landing without a fully deployed parachute." It is important to note that the other skydivers made a safe landing.

As per ABC7, authorities said:

“The group had planned a formation jump from an altitude of approximately 14,000 feet. While they were unable to complete the intended formation, it is not believed that this contributed to the accident."

Eloy Fire officials rushed to the scene and administered life-saving measures before they rushed Gardner to the Casa Grande Banner hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries.

Skydive Arizona shared a statement after the news came to light and mentioned that Gardner was a "highly experienced skydiver," who had completed thousands of jumps. They noted that as per witnesses, the free-fall portion of the skydiving was "uneventful and went as planned" and mentioned:

"The jumper deployed their parachute at the predetermined altitude, but witnesses could see that there was a problem involving the main (primary) parachute. The jumper did not deploy the reserve (second) parachute. The skydiver was jumping parachute gear owned and maintained by the jumper and the weather conditions were clear and calm."

They continued:

"Emergency services promptly responded and transported the skydiver to a nearby hospital, where they were later pronounced dead. An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the accident and no further statements will be made until the results of the investigation have been released."

Skydiver and vice mayor of Eloy, Sara Curtis spoke to AZFamily and said:

“He died doing what he loved and pursuing his passions and his dreams. He was an organizer, which means he led people on jumps. He was sort of an expert skydiver that helped other people learn.”

As per the New York Post, the Federal Aviation Administration will look into the pilot and aircraft's flight regulations and will investigate how the parachute was packed.

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This marks the second death involving skydiving in Eloy in the last month. On January 14, a balloon carrying skydivers crashed in the region, leaving three individuals, and a Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides pilot dead, as per the New York Post.