Roswell woman dies while skydiving near Polk County airport

A Roswell woman fell to her death Sunday while skydiving in Polk County.

Credit: File photo

Credit: File photo

A Roswell woman fell to her death Sunday while skydiving in Polk County.

A Roswell woman died Sunday afternoon while skydiving near the Polk County airport, officials said.

The incident, which is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, happened about 4 p.m. at Skydive Spaceland Atlanta in Cedartown. County Coroner Norman Smith confirmed that the 26-year-old woman fell to her death. Her name was not released.

“Our hearts hurt for this young lady and her family and friends, as well as our skyfamily,” said Sarah Skroch, operations manager at the Polk skydiving business. “Skydivers are a close-knit group and this hurts all of us deeply.”

The FAA said it will be inspecting the packing of the parachute, reserve parachute and rules of flight for the pilot and aircraft. The agency did not release information on what led up to the incident.

Skydive Spaceland Atlanta spokeswoman Christy West told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it was the woman’s first solo-training skydive, during which she was wearing her own parachute. She was with an instructor, West added.

“There was a complication with the primary parachute. The exact cause of the accident is under investigation,” West said. “The equipment was appropriately sized, in good repair and maintained properly by the standards of the Federal Aviation Administration.”