Posted on 07/05/2003 3:43:05 PM PDT by Pikamax
MURDERED AT 13,000FT Skydiver's chute sabotaged say cops
Steve Mckenzie
A YOUNG skydiver who plunged 13,000 feet to his death may have been murdered, police said yesterday.
Detectives said the parachute used by Stephen Paul Hilder, 20, had been "blatantly tampered with".
The Army officer cadet died when his chute failed to open.
His death was caught on video and police have been studying the footage for clues.
He was taking part in a jump attended by university students from Scotland, England and Wales at an airfield in Lincolnshire.
A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said: "The parachute being used by the sky- diver had been blatantly tampered with. We are looking at a potential murder inquiry."
The Ministry of Defence confirmed Mr Hilder was an officer cadet from Cranfield University Defence Academy in Shrivenham, near Swindon.
The academy teaches defence, science and technology.
He had been using his own parachute gear after arriving at Hibaldstow Airfield on Monday.
Disaster struck as he skydived with seven others from an SMG Turbo Finist plane on Friday afternoon.
His body was found in a cornfield near the air base.
Detective Superintendent Colin Andrews, senior investigating officer in the case, said Mr Hilder, who was from the south of England, was an experienced skydiver.
He said: "The parachute equipment had been tampered with before he jumped. This is extremely unusual.
"His equipment was checked on Wednesday night and stored away in good working order.
"He had been due to jump on Wednesday but the jump took place on Friday instead.
"He was experienced and had done in excess of 100 jumps. He was extremely safety conscious."
More than 70 bystanders who witnessed the fall or who were at the airport at the time have been interviewed by police.
Det Supt Andrews said: "The fall was caught on video by people at the site."
Steven Swallow, who manages Target SkySports SkyDiving Centre which runs the skydiving at the airfield, said he was not aware of any similar incidents in the past.
He said: "We've been operating for some 12 years. It's probably one of the top few skydiving locations in the UK.
"People come from across the country and from all over the world.
"I don't know of anything like this incident before. We're all very upset about it."
The site is the largest civilian parachute centre in the UK and tickets for experienced jumpers cost just £17.50 for a jump from around 15,000ft feet, according to the company's website.
Target SkySports is a member of the British Parachute Association, which was set up more than 40 years ago to organise parachuting in the UK. Skydiving takes place at the airfield seven days a week, depending on the weather.
That's probably one of the things that makes them say deliberate tampering.
[splat]
It wasn't the fall that killed him; it was the sudden stop.
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