Man killed in Chester County skydiving accident identified

Investigators have identified the man killed in a Chester County skydiving accident Saturday night.

Bond Springer, 32, of Boca Raton, Fla., was found dead in a wooded area of Chester County not far from the Chester airport around 8:52 a.m. Sunday, almost 14 hours after a team jump from an airplane went fatally wrong.

Springer, described as an experienced skydiver in a news release from the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, was skydiving over Chester County in a wing suit around 7:10 p.m. when he collided midair with a second skydiver.

The other man landed when his parachute deployed and was transported by EMS with a broken leg, according to a sheriff’s incident report, but it was unclear where Springer had landed, and rescue crews had to be called out to locate him. Searchers had to call off their efforts to find Springer as storms rolled into the area, and they resumed the search at 7 a.m. Sunday.

His body was discovered a short time later. Investigators are treating the area as a crime scene. Chief Deputy Robert Sprouse said it is standard procedure to begin an active investigation whenever a body is discovered in the county. The Chester County coroner was called to the scene shortly after the man was discovered.

Both men were jumping as a part of the annual CarolinaFest skydiving festival.

“Both skydivers in the incident were experienced and were executing advanced wing-suit maneuvers,” Skydive Carolina said in a statement. “No malfunction is believed to have occurred with any equipment and all was normal leading to the collision.”

Officials did not say whether Springer’s parachute opened.

This story was originally published June 5, 2016 at 9:02 AM with the headline "Man killed in Chester County skydiving accident identified."