Two licensed skydivers fell to their deaths after colliding in midair just 150 feet above the ground in Lake Elsinore, California.
Quick Take
- Georgia Jean, 56, of South Dakota, and Levi Pimentel, 29, of Illinois, died after their parachutes tangled during landing.
- Skydive Elsinore says free-fall and parachute openings were normal, but the two collided close to the ground.
- The women were part of a group training for a California record for the largest women’s upright formation.
- The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the crash.
What Happened Over Lake Elsinore
Skydive Elsinore said the jump itself went as planned. Both divers left the plane safely, fell through the sky normally, and opened their parachutes without trouble. The trouble came seconds later, as they lined up to land. The company says the two collided roughly 150 feet above the ground, and their parachutes became tangled in the fall. Both suffered critical impact injuries and later died from them.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the identities of the victims days after the crash. Georgia Jean, 56, came from South Dakota. Levi Pimentel, 29, traveled from Illinois. Both were described as experienced, licensed skydivers who had come to the Lake Elsinore drop zone for an organized group event, not a casual solo jump.
A Closer Look At How It Happened
Skydive Elsinore co-owner Bill Hall gave reporters a more detailed picture of the final moments. He said one jumper was already on her final approach to land when another diver, above her, turned onto her own final approach without seeing the first woman below. Their parachutes collided and locked together, sending both divers down entangled. That account comes from the facility, not from a released government finding.
News outlets reported the event differently at first. One early report cited witnesses estimating the collision happened closer to 50 feet off the ground, while the company and most later coverage settled on approximately 150 feet. The gap hasn’t been resolved publicly, and no agency has released video, altitude data, or a reconstruction confirming either number.
Why This Kind Of Crash Happens Near The Ground
Skydiving’s own safety data shows this tragedy fits a known danger zone in the sport. The United States Parachute Association tracks canopy collisions as a distinct fatality category, and the group says these crashes happen almost exclusively in two moments: right after parachutes open, or during the final approach below 1,000 feet, when multiple divers converge toward the same landing spot. Lake Elsinore’s reported 150-foot altitude puts this collision squarely in that second, riskier window.
The numbers help explain why this type of death is rare but not shocking to people inside the sport. The parachute association recorded nine skydiving deaths nationwide in 2024 out of roughly 3.88 million jumps, and canopy collisions made up about 11 to 12 percent of fatalities over the past two decades. In 2025, two of sixteen total U.S. skydiving deaths were canopy collisions, matching that long-term pattern.
The Record Attempt That Brought The Group Together
Jean and Pimentel weren’t jumping alone that day. They were part of a larger group training toward a California record for the largest all-women upright parachute formation, a feat that requires multiple divers to link up precisely in the air before splitting apart to land separately. That kind of event draws skilled, licensed jumpers from across the country, which matches how both victims were described by the drop zone and by reporters.
Skydive Elsinore has said it found no sign that faulty gear caused the crash, pointing instead to the collision itself as the trigger for the fatal entanglement. The FAA was expected to collect the parachutes as part of its review, standard practice after a fatal jump, though no equipment findings have been made public yet. The Sheriff’s Office and FAA investigations remain open.
Skydiving carries inherent risk that no license or experience level fully erases, and this crash is a sobering reminder of that reality. Two skilled divers did everything right through free-fall and canopy deployment, only to lose their lives in the final seconds before touching down. That’s the cruel math of a sport where the ground, not the sky, poses the final test.
Sources:
cbsnews.com, latimes.com, abc7.com, ocregister.com, uspa.org
