Army Golden Knight Parachute Jumper Suffers Brain Injury at Chicago Air Show

A U.S. Army Golden Knight suffered a head injury in a Chicago Air and Water Show accident Saturday. He was one of two parachute jumpers hurt in a mishap over the lakefront shortly after the show opened.

He and a U.S. Navy Leap Frog jumper were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The Golden Knight struck a tall apartment building on his way down and is in critical condition following surgery to remove pressure on his brain. The Navy jumper suffered a broken leg.

The men were performing a “bomb-burst maneuver,” where they come together in formation and then break apart, trailing red smoke behind them, a Golden Knights spokesperson told reporters Saturday afternoon, and the two men collided.

The U.S. Navy Leap Frogs parachutist landed at North Avenue Beach, according to WBBM Newsradio, while the Army Golden Knights jumper landed several blocks south of the beach at Schiller Avenue and Lake Shore Drive in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

A witness said the Army jumper hit a rooftop on his way down and “folded over.” He appeared to be unconscious, she said. Other witnesses said he then went into trees, where firefighters brought him down.

Chicago Fire Department paramedics took both men to the hospital at about 11 a.m.

A witness, Heather Mendenhall, told the Chicago Tribune she saw him hit the building. She said he appeared to be unconscious when he struck, and she noticed the red smoke used in the show trailing him as he descended.

“His legs caught the tip of the roof, and then he fell over. It was horrible,” she said, adding that a maintenance man was on the roof at the time. “If he was only one foot closer to the roof, the maintenance guy could’ve grabbed him.”

The building is 22 stories, according to another witness.

The Navy jumper who landed on the beach near a spectator area also was initially reported to be in critical condition, but that information later was said not to be the case.

Precision military parachute jumpers like the Leap Frogs and Golden Knights typically jump from their aircraft at 12,500 feet, fall at speeds of 120 to 180 miles per hour, and deploy their parachutes at about 5,000 feet, after which they dazzle the crowds with precision maneuvers on their way to the ground.

According to the Chicago Air and Water Show schedule, the Golden Knights jumped at 10:15 a.m. and the Leap Frogs at 10:19 a.m. The show, in its 57th year, began at 10 a.m.

The afternoon parachute performances have been cancelled at the request of the teams.

Chicago-area native Bill Rancic jumped with the Golden Knights this morning. He leapt from the plane just before the two parachutists who were injured. He was met on the beach by his wife, Giuliana, and son, Duke.

“Thank you to the Army Golden Knights for taking me up today at the #chicagoairandwatershow,” Rancic posted to Twitter and Instagram afterward. “Praying for the two soldiers who jumped after me and were injured. Please pray for them and their families.”