Haunting Video Shows the Scary Moment Skydiver Jumps Out of a Plane Without a Parachute, Says His Final Heartbreaking Words

Some mistakes are loud, obvious, and easy to catch. This one was terrifyingly quiet, because it happened at 1,000 feet in the sky, right when Ivan Lester McGuire jumped out of a plane and realized too late that his parachute was not there.

McGuire, who had racked up more than 800 successful jumps, grabbed his camera and went for the dive without a parachute. Officials later tried to piece together how no one noticed, even as FAA inspector Walter Rigsbee pointed out the pilot’s responsibility to check parachutes, and the proprietor’s wife insisted nobody knew he boarded without one.

And once the investigation narrowed in on what went wrong, the scariest part was how fast it turned from routine skydiving into a fatal accident.

McGuire grabbed his camera and dove out of the plane without a parachute

Twitter/@Morbidful

McGuire’s 800-plus jump record made what happened next feel impossible, especially when he still stepped out like everything was normal.

Of course, no one knew, or they would have stopped him."

The skydiver had over 800 successful jumps under his belt, making the occurrence all the more startling, and officials speculated that he may have been fatigued or distracted. FAA inspector Walter Rigsbee said at the time:

"We haven’t gotten all the facts yet. But there is a regulation, No. 105, that states that the pilot must check - well, no one may jump unless the pilot checks the parachutes."

"No one was aware that he got on the plane without a parachute," says the wife of the proprietor of the parachute center

Twitter/@Morbidful

That’s when the proprietor’s wife’s claim landed hard, because she said no one knew he got on the plane without a parachute.

It echoes the kind of dilemma in the Mount Everest question about leaving an unprepared friend behind.

Then FAA inspector Walter Rigsbee brought up regulation No. 105, and suddenly the pilot’s check became the whole mystery.

While officials promptly ruled out suicide in their investigation, pilot Mark Luman was even questioned about the incident. In what was ultimately determined to be a tragic and unfortunate situation, it was concluded that McGuire had simply forgotten his parachute and that his death was an accident. Between one and one and a half kilometers from the airfield where the plane took off, the skydiver's body was discovered. 

Watch the scary moment when Ivan Lester McGuire realized his mistake

Even pilot Mark Luman was questioned, and the timeline kept pointing back to one brutal conclusion: McGuire forgot his parachute.

One of the most amazing experiences life has to offer is skydiving. It's definitely enjoyable, but it's also inspiring, challenging, terrifying, and exhilarating.

However, you must be extremely careful and prepared if you're going on that journey. We're saddened that the skydiver's life was cut short, and we hope not to see such news again.

McGuire forgot his parachute.

For another gut-punch, read about Dominiq Ponder dying in a devastating car accident at 23.