Gloucester County Trial Chief Mary Pyffer said the man was identified as Donald Lawrence Morozin, 62, of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. He was a certified diver and a regular at Freefall Adventures, based out of the Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
"The man had hypertension and other medical issues that caused him to pass out," Pyffer said, explaining why he never pulled the cords.
Morozin was reported missing after an afternoon jump on Nov. 21. A New Jersey State Police helicopter located his body around 5 p.m. that day, in a field off Pitman-Downer Road.
The Federal Aviation Administration responded to the scene to investigate the incident, according to Pyffer. The FAA examined the parachute and "determined it to be packed correctly," according to Pyffer.
"The primary and emergency cords were never pulled," Pyffer added.
An autopsy conducted on Nov. 23 determined the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries and the manner of death was accidental, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
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The victim of a fatal skydiving accident last week in Monroe Township was identified by authorities today as Donald Lawrence Morozin of Bala Cynwyd. He was 62.
Morozin's death on Wednesday has been ruled accidental, the result of multiple traumatic injuries, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office. His body was found 300 feet from the parachute landing zone at the Freefall Adventures skydiving school, based in Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, officials said.
Accident investigators found that the certified skydiver, who had performed more than 3,500 jumps, had not pulled the parachute's primary or emergency chords, said Mary Pyffer, trial chief with the Prosecutor's Office.
Morozin was "known to have hypertension and other medical issues that could cause him to pass out," Pyffer said.
The Federal Aviation Administration examined the parachute and determined that it had been packed correctly and was operational, she said.
The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Attempts to reach family members have been unsuccessful.
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Officials investigate the scene where the body of a skydiver was found in a field off of Glassboro Cross Keys Road, near Appletree Lane, in Monroe Township. Photo by Lori M. Nichols/South Jersey Times
MONROE TWP. — Police are reporting that the body of a skydiver was found 300 feet off of Glassboro-Cross Keys Road near Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown. The airport is located on Dahlia Avenue in Williamstown, part of Monroe Township in Gloucester County. The body was discovered by a N.J. State Police helicopter around 5 p.m., according to authorities. Initial reports said the incident occurred around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
According to police, the skydiver — who has not been identified by authorities — was jumping at Freefall Adventures, which is based at Cross Keys Airport. The skydiver then went missing.
Monroe Township Police Chief Joe Smart confirmed the body of the skydiver had been found. A member of Freefall Adventures said shortly after 6 p.m. that the person was a licensed skydiver but was not associated with their group.
Smart said the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and Federal Aviation Administration were investigating.
A representative from the FAA did not have information about the incident when reached for comment, but said that they typically will investigate whether the parachute was packed correctly.
The Prosecutor's Office did not immediately return a request for comment.
Two parachutists at Freefall Adventures died in 2011, according to previous reports. The mayor of Rutledge, a Pennsylvania town in Delaware County died in March when his parachute failed to open. In March 2012, a Philadelphia man was rescued from a tree near the airport after his parachute became entangled.
In 2010, the United States Parachute Association recorded 21 fatal skydiving accidents in the U.S. — a decrease from the 1970s when the average was reported to be 42.5 fatalities per year, according to the association's website.
Previous skydiving incidents at Freefall Adventures
• May 2011 -- Williamstown parachutist dies after mid-air collision in Monroe Township
• March 2011 -- Pennsylvania mayor dies when his main parachute was not deployed and his reserve failed to full inflate
• September 2006 -- A tandem parachute instructor and his 28-year-old student were killed when their main and reserve parachutes failed to properly deploy
• July 2005 -- Two experienced skydivers were killed when their parachutes collided as they were practicing a high-performance synchronized landing
• September 2004 -- An experienced skydiver was killed when he lost track of altitude and failed to deploy his parachute before striking the ground
A man was killed in a skydiving accident late Wednesday afternoon in Gloucester County, authorities said.
The accident occurred at Freefall Adventures, which provides skydiving lessons and activities at the Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown. The man's name was not released.
His body was found about 300 feet from the parachute landing zone, authorities said. The accident is under investigation by the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The former mayor of Rutledge Borough, Delaware County, died in 2011 during a skydiving accident at Freefall Adventures.
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