Two men killed at Goulburn in a skydiving accident on Sunday had snagged their gear on a part of the aircraft as they attempted to jump from an aircraft.
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In releasing more details of the tragic accident at Goulburn airport, Inspector Matt Hinton said by the time the men became free, there was insufficient height for their chutes to deploy.
The men fell to the ground. Emergency services were called to the scene, some 5km southeast of Goulburn, at 12.50pm to find the two males unresponsive on the runway.
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Inspector Hinton described it as a "very tragic day."
"We are dealing with their friends (who were at the airport) to ascertain the details and contact extended family around the state, which is difficult," he said.
"Police are doing their best to establish the cause and assist the families in their grief."
Police have not released names but the deceased men were a 37-year-old instructor from Manly Vale in Sydney's northern suburbs, and a 32-year-old from Canberra who was undertaking the tandem jump.
Inspector Hinton said four people, including the pilot, were on the single-engine Cessna 182 when it left the airport at noon. Another Canberra man had already jumped and had intended to video the instructor and other Canberra man's tandem jump.
"They were in the plane, stepped out on to a step and attempted to jump but their gear became hooked on a section of the outside of the aircraft," Inspector Hinton said.
"The pilot (realised this) and got out of seat and attempted to assist them but could not reach them. For some reason they dislodged but there wasn't enough height for them to deploy the chute."
He could not say the height at this stage but the men fell to the ground near the runway. Adrenalin Skydive staff alerted emergency services, which were quickly on the scene. Ambulance, police, including police rescue, and fire services attended.
Adrenalin Skydive and airport owner has declined comment but spokesman Scott Marshall told media yesterday that it was a tragic day for everyone.
"We lost one of our tandem instructors and a customer today and everyone here, their heart goes out to their family and friends," Mr Marshall told the Sydney Morning Herald. "It's been a really tough day."
"The instructor had over 2500 skydives, safety is paramount here and it was not a result of anything that the instructor did. It was one of those freak occurrences.
"The younger man, from what I heard, was really looking forward to it. I was talking to his mates and they said he really loved the adrenalin."
Inspector Hinton said friends of the Canberra man were at the airport yesterday and were understandably devastated. His mother also attended the facility on Sunday night.
The Post understands the male had performed tandem jumps elsewhere and was booked in with Adrenalin Skydive for another.
The company had facilitated other earlier skydives that day and had described conditions as suitable, Inspector Hinton said.
It was the fourth skydiving fatality under Adrenalin Skydiving at the airport since November, 2015.
Inspector Hinton said safety would form a part of the investigation and police would be guided by the Australian Parachuting Federation on this. APF officials inspected the aircraft on Sunday night.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also onsite today. WorkSafe NSW was notified and was contacting investigators.
It's understood the instructor was not directly employed by Adrenalin Skydive, but like all others, was a contractor. He had performed many other tandem jumps at Goulburn airport.
Inspector Hinton said a report would be prepared for the coroner and the overall investigation was likely to take "months."
All senior next of kin of the men had been informed.
"It is obviously very tragic for them," he said.
Meantime, APF chief executive Richard McCooey confirmed the organisation's safety and training manager would investigate.
"This is a terrible day for the skydiving community in Australia and especially for the family and friends of the two people who lost their lives," he said.
"Safety is paramount for the skydiving community. We take every incident very seriously."
The APF administers and regulates sport skydiving in Australia under a deed of agreement with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Mayor Bob Kirk passed on his condolences over the accident.
"You can only feel for the family of those involved, the first responders and members of the skydiving fraternity who have been so badly affected by what's occurred," he said.
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