Moments of terror in the skies above Wisconsin over the weekend have given way to some national fame for a group of skydivers. The eleven people were attempting a group jump from about 12,000 feet Saturday over Superior when the two aircraft carrying them collided.
The 11 took to the air again to appear in New York on NBC’s Today show. The skydivers had either jumped, or were about to do so, when the collision occurred. One of the pilots had non-life-threatening injuries when his plane broke apart before falling to the ground. The pilot of the other plane made it back to Richard Bong airport in Superior.
Federal investigators were on the scene of the mishap on Sunday. Many of the divers were instructors at Skydive Superior, which is closed because the damaged aircraft were the only ones the company had. Instructor Barry Sinex said it would take about $150,000 to resume the local sky diving operation. He’s hoping the media exposure will help raise the funds needed to get back in business.