A skydiving instructor died while speed flying in Brazil on Sunday.
Dramatic footage showed José Lima surrounded by several people while he was checking his equipment on Pedra Bonita, a cliff in Rio de Janeiro.
The 49-year-old Army veteran began to run and appeared to lose his balance just as the parachute began to open.
Lima immediately plummeted to the ground as a woman in the background could be heard saying, ‘Guys I am worried.’
The body of Lima, a former military paratrooper, was found four hours after authorities were alerted.
The Ro de Janeiro Civil Police recovered the parachute and equipment as part of the investigation.
Lima arrived at the national park by himself and hiked up a trail to the edge of the cliff, where it is prohibited to jump from.
An instructor who works for the São Conrado Hang Gliding Club, which administers paragliding flights at Pedra Bonita, said in a social media post that Lima failed to use the designated jumping ramp.
‘The pilot did not use the ramp to take off. No one knows the pilot, and we don’t even know how much technique he had,’ the instructor said. ‘The place he chose to take off is bad and even prohibited. The (São Conrado Hang Gliding Club) is not responsible for the incident.’
In a statement, the São Conrado Hang Gliding Club said that Lima performed ‘a clandestine practice that is not monitored by the Club, the Brazilian Hang Gliding Confederation and competent bodies. (He) attempted to take off from the top of Pedra Bonita, but was unsuccessful and died.’
Via DAILYMAIL