EXETER, R.I. (WPRI) — A parachutist found himself in a tricky situation Monday afternoon when he got stuck in a tree near Adams Farm in Exeter, according to the Rhode Island National Guard.
R.I. National Guard Brigadier General Andy Chevalier tells 12 News the parachutist was taking part in a “friendship jump” with both international and United States Leapfest participants.
Chevalier said the jump traditionally follows the annual event, which returned over the weekend after a two-year hiatus.
The situation took a turn when the winds picked up and blew the parachutist past the drop zone and into a tree, according to Chevalier.
Since he was a “little too high” up in the tree, Chevalier said the R.I. National Guard called first responders to help him get down.
When asked whether tree entanglements are common during jumps like these, Chevalier said not really.
“They’re not common, but we do practice in the event there is a tree entanglement,” Chevalier explained. “We have procedures to get down off the tree.”
“In this case, we took the path of most safety and we called in the fire department because we had the time to bring them in,” he continued.
Chevalier said a couple of other jumpers got stuck in trees during Leapfest, however, they were able to get down on their own.
“With this one, he was just so high that we wanted to be safe and bring in some additional help,” he added.
The parachutist was not injured in the incident.
Chevalier said Leapfest went off without a hitch this year, with roughly 300 people taking part in the jump.
“It was a wonderful event,” he said.
This is the first year the jump took place at Adams Farm, with all of the previous jumps taking place at the University of Rhode Island.