Skydiver's final four-word sentence as he realises he's jumped without parachute

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McGuire soaring through the sky with no parachute (Image: X)
McGuire soaring through the sky with no parachute (Image: X)

A highly experienced skydiver sadly lost his life after he forgot his parachute - with his last words revealed in vintage footage.

Not noticing he had forgotten one very vital thing, Ivan McGuire grabbed his camera, to film a student and an instructor from the Franklin County Sports Parachute Centre, US, and jumped from the plane. Said to be on his third jump of the day in April 1988, he did not know it would also be his last. McGuire, 35, sadly filmed his demise as the camera was still recording while he was falling.

Before his deathly accident, he had completed more than 800 successful jumps. His footage captured the haunting few moments before he made an impact with the ground. It appears that he reached to pull his parachute he got closer to the ground before the terrifying realisation hit. The final words caught on recording were: "Oh my god, No!" His body was later found in the woods around one and a half miles from the airfield that he took off from.

Skydiver's final four-word sentence as he realises he's jumped without parachute tdiqriqrhixeinvMcGuire soaring through the sky with no parachute (X)

"It kind of appears he reached for his parachute and didn't have one", Captain Ralph Brown told UPI after reviewing the tape at the time. He continued: "You could only see the instructor and the student falling on the video. But the release for his parachute is on his right hip, and when that right hand goes down, the left-hand goes forward and it comes into camera view. It's kind of boggled in there, and it sounded like he may have said, 'Oh no,' right after his left hand came into view."

At the time, pilot Mark Luman was investigated to see if he had checked to see if McGuire was wearing a parachute. FAA inspector Walter Rigsbee said: "There is a regulation, No. 105, that states that no one may jump unless the pilot checks the parachutes." Nancy Fayard, wife of the parachute centre's owner Paul Fayard, said at the time: "No one was aware that he got on the plane without a parachute. Of course, no one knew or they would have stopped him."

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However, foul play and suicide were ruled out and it was later decided that McGuire simply forgot his parachute causing an accidental death, Daily Star reports. It is believed that he may have mistaken the camera equipment for the parachute as it had a comparable mass and weight, in an unfortunate mix-up.

In 2022, to the horror of onlookers, a skydiving grandad plunged to his death during a pre-game ceremony at a high school football game in Tennessee. The unidentified pensioner slammed onto the field during a scheduled pre-game show at David Crockett High School in Jonesborough, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s office. The skydiver was airlifted to the closest major hospital but was later pronounced dead. Washington County Director of Schools Jerry Boyd referred to the man as a "beloved husband, father, and grandfather", in a statement.

Gemma Jones

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