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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Liam Buckler

Man plunges to his death after skydiving stunt at school goes horribly wrong

This is the horrific moment a skydiving grandad plunges to his death during a high school football match.

Richard Sheffield, 55, was performing in a pre-match show at David Crockett High School in Tennessee on Friday night when he tragically died after a "hard landing" in front of horrified students.

The grandad was part of a skydiving group which were brought into entertain fans at the annual Washington County rivalry game between David Crockett and Daniel Boone high schools.

However, newly released footage from the incident shows Mr Sheffield spinning around in a circle as he plunges towards the ground at terrifying speeds.

Spectators can be heard screaming as the grandad hits the ground with an almighty thump which turned out to be fatal.

The video is stopped before he collides with the ground.

He was quickly airlifted to hospital but tragically died after his stunt.

Mr Sheffield, who has previously entertained spectators, had participated in more than 1,500 jumps in his career.

He was part of a paratroopers group Jump TN who were tasked with entertaining fans before the school's "Musket Bowl".

The tragic death has led to questions about how the stunt went wrong with a senior pro but, according to the Jump TN group, there was nothing wrong with Mr Sheffield's stunt.

Jump TN said there weren't any problems with his parachute despite reports.

They added Mr Sheffield was a highly experienced jumper with decades of experience within the skydiving community.

The group said: “The entire skydiving community is saddened by the sudden loss of a wonderful member of their community.”

Mr Sheffield was married to his wife of 38 years and leaves behind twin sons Stacey and Casey, who both paid tribute to him on Facebook on Saturday.

Stacey said he was the best “Dad, husband, and Pops there was".

He wrote: “One thing Dad loved the most was going fast, and that’s how he went out.

“People look at what we do and say it’s crazy, and well, maybe it is, but Dad lived a full life, and he taught us to do the same. He made an impact on everyone he met.

Despite the stunt going tragically wrong the football game reportedly went ahead.

A period of silence was instead chosen to pay their respects to the skydiver as he was rushed to hospital.

The tragic skydiving incident was followed by another on Saturday after Michigan Brandon Jackson, 37, plunged to his death in New Jersey.

He was found lying in a field near a runway at Alexandria Field Airport in Hunterdon County, New Jersey at 2:30 p.m.

Mr Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

Police are investigating his death and have yet to reveal the name of the company the skysdiver was working for.

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