U.S. Army Golden Knights skydiver dies during air show

She said the Army will work to ensure everyone is mentally and physically fit to continue with the show season, adding that the team’s performance schedule could be affected.

A member of a U.S. Army parachute team died Sunday resulting from injuries suffered after a midair collision during the Chicago Air and Water Show.

The Chicago Air and Water Show is held every year in Cook County on the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois. Initial reports indicate that Hood collided with another skydiver mid-air following a maneuver performed by the team.

The accident is under investigation, the Army said. “The Golden Knights are an important connection between the Army and the American people”, said Mark S. Davis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for marketing, which oversees the USAPT. He didn’t make the team on his first try, but his persistence and personality paid off. At a veterans day celebration past year, he said he was proud to serve. He was reported to be taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was operated to ease pressure on the brain. He got to fly with the Golden Knights and Leap Frogs as they prepared to wow the crowds along the lakefront the first day of the Air Show. Hood clipped an apartment building, then crashed onto the sidewalk, and was knocked unconscious. According to the Pentagon, Hood had in excess of 200 free fall and 75 static line jumps under his belt.

After joining the Golden Knights in 2013, Hood served as ground safety officer until October 2014 when he was officially selected as a demonstration parachutist.

Donna Dixon, a representative for the US Army’s Golden Knights, told nearby NBC member WMAQ-TV that her group’s parachutist was in discriminating condition and experienced surgery. Hood’s emergency chute was visible, but according to McSweeney, he didn’t know what that meant at the time.

According to CBS Chicago, “The Golden Angels have canceled activities planned for Sunday Air & Water show, Dixon said”.

Freefall collisions are rare, and the Golden Knights have “a long history of doing public display jumps safely and carefully”, Crouch said.

Members of the Navy team are active-duty personnel drawn from forces that include the Navy SEALs.

“Accidents happen and I understand totally”, Williams said. They typically open their parachutes at around 5,000 feet.