B.C. skydiver crashes after main parachute fails and backup gets tangled

An experienced B.C. skydiver crashed during a jump on Sunday, after his parachute failed and his backup became tangled.

Jeff O'Neill, 39, was in the middle of a solo jump with Skydive Salmon Arm when his main parachute didn't deploy properly. He hada reserve chute to slow his fall,but it,somehow, got tangled with the first.

O'Neill broke hispelvis in the crash and was airliftedtoKelownaGeneral Hospital.

Rick Scott, who owns Skydive Salmon Arm, said it's very unusual for backup chutes to become tangled.

"That doesn't happen," hesaid.

Scott said O'Neill is a certified "rigger," meaning he's trained to pack, maintain and repair parachutes. He also hasmore than 700 successful jumps under his belt.

The accident is the second during SkydiveSalmonArm's six years in business,with the first resultingin a broken ankle.

Scott said "minor scuffs and scrapes" are fairly common in skydiving, but reiterated that major crashes are extremely rare.

"Your drive to work today wasstatisticallymore dangerous," he said.

O'Neill's crash happened during thelast jump of the last day of the season for the skydive centre, which closed for the season this week.