x
Breaking News
More () »

There have been four skydiving-related deaths in Colorado in less than a year

Some of the people had done this hundreds of times before.

Brock Barto, 30, died after a skydiving accident in Longmont Saturday morning.

This is the fourth skydiving-related death in Colorado in less than a year.

Mile-Hi Skydivers sent out a statement saying Barto was an experienced skydiver with hundreds of jumps.

"We will honor his memory in our hearts and minds and will continue to adhere to the highest levels of safety going forward," read the statement.

The company says it's been a difficult year with the unusually high number of incidents.

"All the recent accidents involve highly experienced and qualified skydivers," wrote Mile-Hi Skydivers, "skydiving is a challenge-by-choice sport, and as skydivers progress, they often challenge themselves with new canopy skills, different types of suits and different styles of flying."

TIMELINE

The first skydiving death in less than 12 months here in Colorado happened in October 2018. Logan Polfuss, 23, died in Longmont.

Boulder County deputies said he was an experienced skydiver who had completed about 180 jumps.

It was his first time using a tracking suit when he had the accident. His body was found in a field near Vance Brand Municipal Airport the day after he jumped.

On May 11, Timothy DeTine, 57, of Littleton died.

Patrick Gire, 40, of Denver had a traumatic brain injury during a skydiving accident back in September. He spent 9 months in rehabilitation but later died.

Family members say Patrick did more than 6,000 skydiving jumps in the last 10 years.

Patrick was an instructor and videographer with Mile-Hi Skydiving.

On June 29, 2019, Barto died after misjudging his landing at Vance Brand Municipal Airport, according to Longmont Police. 

Police say he hit the ground hard. Nurses tried to help him at the scene but he had to be taken to the hospital where he later died.

Longmont Police say the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating.  

Before You Leave, Check This Out