#CliffsOfMoher - An inquest into the death of a BASE jumper at the Cliffs of Moher earlier this year has heard how his parachute opened in the wrong direction as he was in free fall from the top of the Co Clare beauty spot.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the deceased was one of three men who had gone to Aill Na Searrach to perform the jump on the morning of Saturday 22 April.
In his deposition at the inquest, as reported in The Irish Times, Greg McEntee said he completed his own jump and landing safely just before the late Malcolm Rowley leapt from the edge.
McEntee described witnessing Rowley’s free fall and saw him opening his parachute “but when it opened, it didn’t open facing away from the cliffs.”
The incident was a “one in a 100” chance, said the veteran skydiver and BASE jumper of the deceased, whom he noted as having “a reasonable amount” of experience.
BASE (building, antenna, span and earth) jumping is the practice of parachuting from low-altitude fixed objects or cliffs. The extreme sport is considered illegal in most circumstances.
The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.