ORANGE — A man was transported to an area hospital Saturday afternoon after he sustained serious injuries in a skydiving incident, according to Fire Chief James Young.
Orange Fire Rescue EMS transported the man, who is believed to have collided with another skydiver midair, to the Orange Municipal Airport terminal at approximately 4:35 p.m., Young said. From there, a medical helicopter flew the injured man to a hospital.
“We did have an initial report that the skydiver was unconscious and was treated. … It was a traumatic injury,” Young said in a phone interview Monday. “Our ambulance responded initially to the call, and then our fire engine, as well as additional personnel [who] secured the landing zone at the airport for the helicopter.”
Young confirmed that the skydiver jumped from a Jumptown Skydiving plane and landed within the confines of the Orange Municipal Airport property, roughly a quarter-mile from the airport terminal where the medical helicopter arrived.
Young did not have information regarding whether the injured man was on a tandem skydive with an instructor or if he was skydiving independently.
A Jumptown representative declined to comment on the incident when reached by phone Monday morning, but said the company planned to craft a statement.