Skydiving Death: St. Pete Man Dies In Nebraska

CRETE, NE — A St. Petersburg man died in a Sept. 15 skydiving accident in Nebraska.

William Seale, 34, was killed after a late-afternoon tandem jump out of Crete Municipal Airport, according to a news release from the city of Crete.

Witnesses told police that as a pair of skydivers — including Seale — jumped from an aircraft operated by Skydive Atlas LLC, the parachute functioned properly and fully deployed.

Despite this, for unknown reasons, the pair didn’t slow down enough as they descended and approached the ground, the city said.

The experienced parachutist paired with Seale, 56-year-old Romulo Suarez of Crete, was brought to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Seale was brought to the Create Area Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the city said.

In a statement provided to 1011 NOW, Skydive Atlas said, “The Skydive Atlas Family is grieving today after the tragic loss of a novice skydiver and serious injury to an experienced tandem master. The incident took place on Thursday, Sept. 15 during the final descent of a typical skydive, but at this time it’s not possible to precisely know what the cause of the accident, so we won’t speculate.”

The company added, “Safety has been and must be our top priority, every day, and every jump. Each skydiver and each Skydive Atlas team member receives thorough training and counseling. Skydive Atlas, a member of the U.S. Parachute Association Group, has performed nearly 20,000 safe jumps since starting business in 2005. The tandem master involved has more than 1,800 jumps alone.”