Army parachutist dies after collision at Chicago air show

A U.S. Army parachutist suffered fatal injuries following a mid-air collision and fall at the city’s Air and Water Show Saturday.

According to the website of the Army team, Golden Knights, this is the first fatality since 1980 when Sgt First Class Thomas Johnson was killed performing in an air show in Virginia. Hood’s chute deployed automatically, Dixon said, but he crashed onto a sidewalk in the 1400 block of North Lake Shore Drive after he apparently clipped the top of a building.

Hood, who was from Cincinnati, Ohio, served in Afghanistan and Iraq, died at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The two members of the Golden Knights spoke about their fear of heights, but added they were most comfortable when the door of a plane was open and their parachutes were strapped to their backs.

Spectators at the Air and Water Show said their concern for the parachutists trumped any disappointment that the parachute portion of the show was canceled on Sunday.

For now, the Golden Knights will remain on the ground – following the accident, they’ve been put on a “safety stand down”. He is survived by his wife Lyndsay.

Clayton Myers was out for a morning walk with his dog when he spotted a parachute gliding down between the Gold Coast high-rises.

Thirteen parachutists Saturday jumped from the aircraft and formed a circle holding hands, a maneuver known as a “mass”, Donna Dixon, a Golden Knights spokeswoman, said.

“We’re so proud of him being apart of that elite sky diving unit, he was so proud of himself I know and really loved those guys”.

“The Golden Knights are an important connection between the Army and the American people”, Mark S. Davis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Marketing, which oversees the USAPT, said.

“He didn’t look like he was conscious”, the witness, Heather Mendenhall, told the station. Headliners include the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

Corey started jumping in 2010, logging 500 free falls since.