Officials identified the man Saturday evening as James Stremmel.
Gregory Upper, owner of the Triangle Skydiving Center, said Stremmel went up with a few others for his second or third jump of the day.
Upper said Stremmel—a former Marine—was an excellent skydiver who had completed more than 1,800 skydives over the past five years.
"His whole life was skydiving. This is what he did—skydive," Upper said. "He had just got out of the Marine Corps a little over a year ago, or maybe two years, and he was planning to skydive all over the world."
Upper said Stremmel's gear was looked at and they will turn everything over to the Federal Aviation Administration.
No further information has been released. Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
Story, video and photo: http://www.wral.com
This picture taken right before fatal jump. Triangle Skydiving Center: He just left Marine Corps after years of service.
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LOUISBURG, N.C. (WNCN) — A Raleigh man died in a parachuting incident in Franklin County on Saturday afternoon, officials say.
James Stremmel of Raleigh died in the incident, which happened around 2 p.m. at the Franklin County Airport off Highway 401, sources at the skydiving center used by Stremmel told WNCN.
The Triangle Skydiving Center is located at the airport, which is also known as the Triangle North Executive Airport.
The owner of the Triangle Skydiving Center says Stremmel, who was a client of the center, was an experienced skydiver.
Stremmel, who used to live in Texas, was a former US Marine and lived in Raleigh with his girlfriend, sources said.
Greg Upper, the owner of the skydiving center, said he doesn’t know what went wrong during the jump.
Upper told WNCN that he spoke with Stremmel about 20 minutes before he died and that Stremmel’s parachute worked. But somehow … he had a hard landing.
Stremmel, who was licensed, had performed more than 1,800 skydiving jumps in the past and jumps nearly every weekend, according to Upper.
“James was a friend of mine. He was, it’s unfortunate that’s all i can say at this point. Its unexpected, unfortunate and it was a tragic accident that’s all I can tell you,” Upper said.
The Franklin County Sheriff and the FAA are investigating the incident.
Story, video and photo gallery: http://wncn.com
James Stremmel
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LOUISBURG, N.C. (WTVD) -- One person was killed early Saturday afternoon while parachuting, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. It happened at the Triangle North Executive Airport off Highway 401.~
The victim was identified as 24-year-old James Stremmel. He was an experienced skydiver, being licensed and having over 1,800 jumps.
He had gotten the Marine Corps about a year ago after spending years serving. He had been living in Raleigh and was originally from Houston.
The owner of the Triangle Skydiving Center, Gregory Upper, says Stremmel had a hard landing but doesn't know what went wrong. He says he is a close friend of Stremmel and had talked to him 20 minutes before the accident.
"James was a friend of mine and he was... and it was unfortunate," said Upper. "That's all you can say at this point. It's unexpected. It's unfortunate and it was a tragic accident."
Story, video and photo gallery: http://abc11.com
Blue Skies, Devil Dog. Say hi to Ivan McGuire for me. He died at FCSPC in Spring of 1988. Wonder whatever happened to 85 Zulu?
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