Skydivers at Innisfail's Big Bend Airport held a solemn but heartfelt sky-high tribute for one of their own last week.
After descending thousands of feet from an airplane above, each skydiver aimed for the spot where 34-year-old Mike Koo died on June 7 after his parachute failed to open.
“In the skydiving community we like to celebrate the lives of people rather than stop everything and feel sorry for ourselves,” said Dave Withrow, chief instructor for Skydive Big Sky, the club that operates out of the airport. “Last night (June 11) we actually did a jump and a few of the jumpers landed close to the accident site and very kind words were said about Mike and his friends, and flowers were placed on the site.”
Withrow was among 30 skydivers that were unleashing their passion thousands of feet above on the night of June 7 when Koo, an experienced Calgary skydiver with up to 300 jumps under his belt, went up in a plane with three others to perform a wingsuit jump, a challenging skydiving technique for experienced jumpers. The time was around 8 p.m., and it was his last jump of the day.
“Mike was there having fun with his friends,” said Withrow, whose home is in Airdrie.
But something went terribly wrong during Koo's final jump.
“Generally when you jump you are supposed to open up your parachute at about 4,000 feet off the ground and unfortunately Mike lost track of his altitude and did not open his parachute at all,” said Withrow, who was with a separate group in a different airplane performing tandem skydives. “It didn't open because he didn't pull any handles. He may have had a rough panicky situation. There is no way of knowing but essentially it comes down that he didn't pull any handles.”
Withrow said when Koo did not show up at the packing area of the airport, where skydivers pack up their parachutes after a jump, a search was made to find him.
“Sometimes people land off, what we call it, so they just need a ride back to the packing area,” said Withrow.
Tragically, however, Koo was found lifeless in a farmer's field off to the edge of the airport property – west of the runway.
“I was the one who informed everyone. I gathered everybody together as a big group instead of telling people separately,” said Withrow, adding Koo's death is the club's first fatality since it first opened almost eight years ago. “Some people immediately took it hard because they knew him. Some people were just blown away by the fact that it actually happened. Some people didn't know him at all.”
In the meantime, RCMP and EMS were called immediately. The area was then sealed off for an investigation.
Innisfail RCMP Staff Sgt. Chris Matechuk said the probe into the tragedy is continuing but police already have determined Koo's death was an accident.
Matechuk said Transport Canada has been consulted about the case but the Innisfail RCMP is investigating on behalf of the Medical Examiner's office.
“Everything we obtain we will forward to them,” said Matechuk.
Koo's funeral was held last Saturday in Calgary.
