Man, 21, dies when parachute fails

UNION, Ohio, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A Kentucky man was killed in a skydiving accident when his parachute opened too close to the ground after he jumped from a helicopter in Ohio.

Thomas J. Bartlett, 21, of Owensboro was jumping with another man Friday evening, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Witnesses said Bartlett was about 1,500 feet up when he jumped from the helicopter, Lt. Scott Gaviglia of the Union Township Police Department said.

Bartlett was within 40 feet of the ground when his parachute opened.

"I'd never heard of anything like this before last night," Gaviglia said. "But it's a sport. We've been told he was an experienced diver."

Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said skydiving is mostly self-regulated and pilots do not need special licenses. She said investigators will interview the packers of Bartlett's primary and reserve parachutes and to determine whether the pilot was following regulations.