LUMBERTON, Miss. (AP) — A skydiving instructor from Pensacola, Fla., died in a remote swamp after a tandem jump that hospitalized his student, Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel said Sunday.
James "Jimmie" Horak Jr., 56, an instructor for the Emerald Coast Skydiving Center in Elberta, Ala., died Saturday in a swamp about a mile from the airport in Lumberton, Miss. He was safety-conscious and had made more than 8,000 jumps, said his wife, Debbie Horak.
Rigel said he could not identify the student but believes the man was not from Mississippi.
Three other skydivers who jumped with them told investigators that equipment appeared to malfunction, Rigel (REE-guhl) said Sunday.
"They said something appeared to be not right. There appeared to be some entanglement with the lines, but I'm not qualified to say what that was or even speculate about it," he said.