2 critically hurt in skydiving accident outside of Las Vegas

Two people suffered life-threatening injuries during a skydiving-related accident Wednesday in Jean, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The injured people were transported to a local hospital, the department said in a statement issued just after 4 p.m.

Early Wednesday afternoon, Sgt. Dana Pickerel told a Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter near the scene that a parachute accident, which he referred to as an “isolated incident,” left two people with critical injuries.

Emergency responders were seen Wednesday on Las Vegas Boulevard near Jean’s airport, known as the Jean Sport Aviation Center.

According to its website, the Jean Sport Aviation Center is a “great little airport for fly-ins and ideal for recreational aviation including general aviation aircraft, aerobatic aircraft, gliders, ultralights, and skydiving.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, in an email from spokesman Donnell Evans, confirmed that an accident happened around noon Wednesday.

Pickerel said the accident was not being investigated as a criminal matter and that the FAA was the lead investigating agency.

The FAA investigates the packing of the main and reserve parachutes for skydiving endeavors, Evans said.

If the FAA does not find any evidence of regulatory violation, it will defer any further investigation of the accident to local law enforcement. The FAA does not determine cause.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.