Skydiver dies after mid-air collision in Massachusetts

A skydiver has died three days after colliding with another skydiver mid-air over Orange, Massachusetts.

The accident happened Saturday afternoon after the man jumped from a Jumptown Skydiving plane, Orange Fire Chief James Young said. The Northwestern District Attorney’s office identified the victim as 62-year-old Robert Szabo of Connecticut.

The other skydiver involved in the collision was not injured, Young said.

Massachusetts skydiving accident investigated

Szabo was taken by ambulance to a Worcester hospital, where he died Tuesday evening. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.

The district attorney’s office said the cause of the accident is still being investigated by local authorities and the Federal Aviation Administration. WBZ-TV has reached out to Jumptown for comment. 

Skydiver had years of experience

Szabo is listed as a staff member at Connecticut Parachutists, a skydiving club in Ellington, Connecticut. According to the organization’s website, he has been a passionate skydiver since 2000 and was a coordinator for the “Accelerated Freefall” program. 

“Rob’s accumulated skydiving knowledge has made him an asset to jumpers of all experience levels,” the website states. 

In 2022, a skydiver with Jumptown was injured after his parachute got tangled and he made a hard landing on the roof of a building.

First responders in Orange train with Jumptown to prepare for possible skydiving accidents.

“We don’t have emergencies at Jumptown very often, in fact they run a very safe operation, but like any extracurricular activity, there are risks,” the fire department said at the time.

The Greenfield Recorder reported that this is the second skydiving death at Jumptown in less than a decade. In 2018, 27-year-old Alexis Zayas of New York, died after veering off course and hitting a barn. 

Orange is more than 70 miles west of Boston and about 10 miles from the New Hampshire border.