Paratrooper falls to his death when chute fails to open

An experienced army paratrooper plunged to his death in front of horrified spectators when his parachute failed to open.

Lieutenant Tito Olivera Gonzalez from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was taking part in a skydiving demonstration near the remote town of La Union in the Lempira department.

The 29-year-old was a member of the Honduran Army’s elite Special Forces and was reportedly married and had a four-year-old son.

Cellphone footage – filmed by eyewitnesses – shows Tito plummet towards the ground when his parachute fails to open.

Tito reportedly jumped from a helicopter at 1 524m.

Instead of landing on a soccer pitch where spectators were waiting for him and his comrades to land, he crashed into a mountainside near the town.

Emergency services raced to the scene but Tito was dead by the time they arrived.

The Honduran Army has ordered staff to observe three days of mourning and launched an investigation into his death.

“We confirm the accidental death of Tito Oliveira, member of the Special Forces,” army spokesman Jose Domingo Menza said.

Local officials are still investigating why his parachute and reserve parachute didn’t open properly.

Source: Magazine Features

Pictures: CENTRALEUROPEANNEWS /WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA