Skydiving instructor, student fell into spin after parachute failed, report says
A skydiving instructor and student went into an uncontrollable spin when their parachute malfunctioned and they plummeted into the desert near Jean at upwards of 45 mph, according to a police report obtained Tuesday.
The 54-year-old instructor and his 24-year-old student, who both suffered critical injuries in the Sept. 17 skydiving accident, had been strapped together when they jumped that morning from a height of 11,000 feet, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report.
Another pair of skydivers told investigators they had noticed the other pair’s primary parachute was “not working as well as it could have,” the report said.
The report said a backup parachute kept the main parachute from fully opening, causing the pair to go into a spin from which the instructor could not recover, according to witnesses accounts.
They said the instructor released the main parachute and deployed a back-up parachute moments before he and the student crashed into the ground at 35 mph to 45 mph, according to the report.
The two men were airlifted to University Medical Center, where their conditions were last reported as critical.
The instructor was identified by Mario Viteri, a family friend, as Jiron Arcos Ponce, and a UMC spokesperson said Ponce remained in critical condition as of Monday. The name of the student was not available.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Chris Mullooly said last week the crash remained under investigation.
According to the report, the plane that carried the skydivers was used by GoJump Las Vegas, though a representative for GoJump said the business was closed day of the incident.
GoJump America LLC founder and chief executive Michael Vetter denied his company’s involvement and deferred comment to Skydive Las Vegas, which he said was not affiliated with GoJump.
“I don’t know how the Metropolitan Police came up with that report but we have nothing to do with Skydive Las Vegas,” Vetter said in an email.
“We never rent out anything to Skydive Las Vegas, are not affiliated with them and have nothing to do with them,” Vetter said in a follow-up message.
In response to Vetter’s comments, a Metro spokesperson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the department stands by its report and that any additional information would be released by the FAA.
According to Nevada Secretary of State filings, Skydive Las Vegas is registered to Brent Buckner, who is also listed as the officer for another local skydiving business, Sin City Skydiving.
Multiple attempts to reach Buckner were unsuccessful. When asked whether Skydive Las Vegas was involved in the crash, a spokesperson who declined to give their name responded “no comment” on Monday.
A representative for Sin City Skydiving on Monday confirmed that Ponce was employed there, but directed all inquiries to a general email listed on the company website.
State law requires skydiving businesses to comply with safety requirements outlined in the United States Parachute Association’s Skydiver’s Information Manual. State law also requires skydiving businesses to report incidences resulting in death or serious injury of a customer to the association no later than one business day after the accident.
According to this year’s edition of the Skydiver’s Information Manual, most skydiving equipment consists of a harness-and-container system, which contains a main parachute and reserve parachute.
Luke Nimmo, a public information administrator for Harry Reid International Airport, which oversees operations at the Jean airport, said the facility does not maintain logs of aircraft activity because it does not have an air-traffic control tower.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky. Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.