Wisconsin skydivers jump to safety after two planes collide
Skydivers and pilots jump to safety after Wisconsin mid-air collision. Skydiving instructor Mike Robinson's plane was at 3,600 metres when a second plane carrying other skydivers smashed into his aircraft, ripping off a wing.
But all nine skydivers aboard the planes survived when they baled out mid-air, parachuting to safety as flaming debris plummeted around them.
None of the skydivers or the two pilots sustained serious injury in Saturday afternoon's crash in the US state of Wisconsin near Lake Superior. The pilot of Robinson's plane ejected and parachuted to safety too, while the pilot managed to land the badly damaged second plane.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration were in the area on Sunday and the cause of the incident was still being investigated, said FAA spokesman Roland Herwig.
Robinson, an instructor and safety adviser for Skydive Superior, said that the skydivers had gone up for their last jump of the day - called the "sunset load" - and the two planes were flying in formation.
All of the skydivers were instructors or coaches and had hundreds, if not thousands, of jumps under their belts. It was Robinson's 937th jump, and his fourth of the day.