Russian skydiver flown to hospital after making hard landing in DeLand, cops say

A 40-year-old skydiver from Russia was flown to a hospital Friday morning after making a hard landing in DeLand, officials say.Nikolay V. Likachev landed underneath an open parachute at Skydive DeLand at the DeLand Municipal Airport shortly after 9 a.m.,...

Russian skydiver flown to hospital after making hard landing in DeLand, cops say

A 40-year-old skydiver from Russia was flown to a hospital Friday morning after making a hard landing in DeLand, officials say.

Nikolay V. Likachev landed underneath an open parachute at Skydive DeLand at the DeLand Municipal Airport shortly after 9 a.m., according to police. 

In a 911 call, a witness with the skydiving company said Likachev hit the ground “very hard” and was unconscious, but breathing. 

The witness said she didn’t see how he fell, but that his parachute was “completely” open.

“We didn’t quite see the whole incident ourselves, he’s kind of behind one of our buildings,” she said. “We just noticed that we witnessed that he hit the ground a little hard.”

She told the dispatcher that Likachev didn’t have any other visible injuries.

Emergency medical crews flew him to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, according to police. His condition wasn’t immediately known.

No other details about the incident have been released.

Two people were killed and at least two others injured at Skydive DeLand in 2015, reports show.

A Navy SEAL died during a training exercise in January that year, and three months later, a 33-year-old woman was killed in a mid-air collision. 

In June 2015, a man was flown to a hospital with injuries to his head and legs. Another man suffered a broken leg four months later after making a hard landing.

A parachutist from Ukraine was killed in Marion County in October 2016 while leading a group of skydivers doing military-style parachuting. Investigators said his reserve parachute accidentally deployed and he fell out of the single-engine plane.

This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.

sallen@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5417

Navy SEAL dies in parachute training »

Skydiver airlifted after 'hard landing' in DeLand, cops say »

Deputies ID parachutist killed in Marion County »

Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins of the Orlando Police Department has been disciplined after making a false arrest based on an incorrectly-administered drug test which identified Krispy Kreme dougnut glaze as amphetamine.

Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins of the Orlando Police Department has been disciplined after making a false arrest based on an incorrectly-administered drug test which identified Krispy Kreme dougnut glaze as amphetamine.

Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins of the Orlando Police Department has been disciplined after making a false arrest based on an incorrectly-administered drug test which identified Krispy Kreme dougnut glaze as amphetamine.

Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins of the Orlando Police Department has been disciplined after making a false arrest based on an incorrectly-administered drug test which identified Krispy Kreme dougnut glaze as amphetamine.

An executive at Florida Hospital Oceanside is accused of fraudulently using other people’s information, including his child’s, to get prescription pills

An executive at Florida Hospital Oceanside is accused of fraudulently using other people’s information, including his child’s, to get prescription pills

Security footage reveals three armed men wearing masks robbing a Denny’s restaurant in Eustis early Monday.

Security footage reveals three armed men wearing masks robbing a Denny’s restaurant in Eustis early Monday.

A man opened fire in a parking lot near Pine Hills in December. The shots hit five people, killing one. It happened around 9:50 p.m. Dec. 11 at a plaza at 5100 block of North Lane.

A man opened fire in a parking lot near Pine Hills in December. The shots hit five people, killing one. It happened around 9:50 p.m. Dec. 11 at a plaza at 5100 block of North Lane.

Detectives this morning were scouring a wooded area where they found human remains believed to be those of a missing 92-year-old Leesburg woman.

Detectives this morning were scouring a wooded area where they found human remains believed to be those of a missing 92-year-old Leesburg woman.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.

NEXT NEWS