Latest news with #skydiving
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Skydiving firm closes for good after mother plunged 15,000ft to her death with instructor during tandem jump
The skydiving company where a mum and her instructor plunged to their deaths has announced it has ceased trading. Skydive Buzz Ltd, based at Dunkeswell Airfield, near Honiton, Devon, told customers it is going into compulsory liquidation. The company arranged a tandem parachute jump which went catastrophically wrong, leading to the deaths of Belinda Taylor, 48, and her instructor Adam Harrison, 30, on Friday, June 13. Adam Harrison, 30, a student and skydive instructor, from Bournemouth, Dorset, and Belinda Taylor, 48, from Totnes, Devon, died in a skydiving accident after their parachute did not open as expected on Friday, June 13. A statement on Sky Buzz website said: 'It is with regret that the director have been required to make the difficult decision to cease operations with immediate effect. 'It is proposed that the Company be placed into Compulsory Liquidation in due course. The Official Receiver should be in contact with creditors and customers to provide an update regarding the closure of the Company and the proposed Liquidation proceedings. 'We would like to thank our staff, customers and all involved with Sky Dive Buzz for their support over the years and apologise again that we have been left with little other option but to close.' In a social media post, Dunkeswell Aerodome said: 'We would like to thank our staff, customers and all involved with Sky Dive Buzz for their support over the years and apologise again that we have been left with little other option but to close.' Inquests have been opened into the tragic deaths of Belinda and Adam. In recent weeks the company had stopped answering calls and customers said bookings had been cancelled, The Sun reported. One customer said they have lost £550 after paying for three skydives which have now been cancelled. They sadi: 'We have contacted the voucher company that we got them from and because it's been over two years since we bought the vouchers (because our skydives have been cancelled three times now since 2023) we won't be getting our money back apparently. 'I have always found them very helpful when the sky dives have been cancelled. 'They have always been very accommodating so it's very frustrating to find out that this is basically now just lost money.' Another customer said their skydive in July was cancelled due to the weather, but have been unable to re-book since. Skydive Buzz has insisted that the closure is due to financial reasons alone. The company has not confirmed how many jobs will be lost as a result of the closure. Mr Harrison's loved ones described him as 'the most wonderful and talented self-driven man'. The 30-year-old had been lining up a new profession, one he tragically said was set to provide him with 'a bright future'. While continuing his 'passion' as a self-employed sky dive instructor, Mr Harrison had been attending AECC University College in Bournemouth as a full-time 'Chiropractic Student'. His family yesterday said he was 'on the brink of qualifying' and embarking on the new career. Paying tribute to their 'beloved son, brother, uncle and friend', they added: 'He showed everyone that you could do anything if you work hard enough. 'We love you, Adam, more than you know. You were a hero to your nieces and nephews and we will never stop thinking about you. 'Adam had built a sterling reputation as a professional instructor, and we take comfort in knowing that he would undoubtedly have done everything in his power to avert any crisis.' Mr Harrison joined GoSkydive in July 2017, where he learned to 'pack parachutes, harness and entertain customers' before being promoted to an instructor after years of training. He then left to take up a self-employed role at Skydive Buzz, in September 2021. Advertising the 15,000ft jump, the website reads: 'Once in a lifetime experience? Ticking the bucket list? Jumping for charity? Whatever your reason, if you can afford too; jump from the ultimate altitude! No-one jumps from higher in the UK!' Ms Taylor's son, Elias, 20, told how his mother had been becoming more 'adventurous' after meeting her new boyfriend Scott Armstrong, who brought the jump for her as a present. The university student who lives in west London also revealed that she had been making jokes about making the jump on Friday the 13th, a date which often prompts superstitions. He said: 'She really just put everyone above herself. It's really difficult for (younger sister) Emily as she was the one living there with mum. 'I spoke to her a week before it happened. It's kind of weird thinking about it now, but at the time obviously she was saying how the jump would take place on Friday 13th and all those things... you don't really expect what happened to happened. 'She was mentioning it in a jokey way. 'It's all still a bit of a shock. Recently she had (boyfriend) Scott and two of his kids, and looked after them. She was getting more adventurous with him, kayaking and stuff, looking to have that excitement and have more fun. 'She talked for ages and ages, and always wanted to have a chat. She was such a positive person.' He added: 'We just want answers about what happened and how it could have happened. 'We want as much information as possible, we feel like it would help us be at peace.' Grieving partner Mr Armstrong has demanded information about what caused the tragedy, which is now being probed by the British Skydiving Board of Inquiry. Ms Taylor's ex-husband Bachir Baaklini was also in tears as he described wanting 'justice' for Ms Taylor, with whom he shares two biological children, Elias and Emily, 13. Speaking at his family home in west London, Mr Baaklini told MailOnline: 'We want her to rest in peace but we need justice. 'This should not have happened. We have got to know why the kids lost their mum.' Mr Armstrong revealed how he watched in horror as it happened - after buying her the jump as a present. He wrote on social media: 'I want answers. They took my world away.' He added: 'I miss you so much, you were my best friend, thank you for everything you done for me. From making my children feel at home to putting up with my mess. 'I'm so lost without you. There's just so much that I don't have the words to express it. I feel so lost I don't know where home is without you.' He has also described buying the sky dive jump experience for Ms Taylor, also a grandmother-of-two, as a 'thank you' gesture - and witnessed what happened alongside his nine-year-old son. He told the Mirror: 'The plan was to do a 7,000ft jump, but at the last minute she said she wanted to do a 15,000ft one, so I paid the extra money. They were the last group to go up. 'I found Belinda and the instructor lying there, still together, both clearly dead. It was a horrific sight. 'I miss her so much. I'm so lost without her. She meant the world to all of us and we'll never forget her. She was an adrenaline junkie and an adventurer. She'd done kayaking and all sorts.' Belinda's eldest son Connor Bowles also gave a tribute to his mother. He said: 'On Friday, June 13, our family lost our mum Belinda Taylor. 'She was a mother of four children, three adult boys and one teenage girl, and a grandmother to two young children. 'She was a selfless woman who wanted only the best for others and especially her loved ones. 'She will be deeply missed and will leave an everlasting impression on all those she has met in life. 'We as a family would like to ask for peace and privacy during this time whilst we grieve our loss and remember our mum as we should do.' Ms Taylor had three adult sons and a teenage daughter, as well as welcoming Mr Armstrong's nine-year-old son.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Skydiving company closes for good after mum-of-four fell to her death with instructor in tandem skydive
THE SKYDIVING company where a mum and her instructor plunged to their deaths has announced it has ceased trading - leaving punters hundreds of pounds out of pocket. Skydive Buzz Ltd, based at Dunkeswell Airfield, near Honiton, Devon, has told customers that the firm is to be put into compulsory liquidation. 3 3 The company arranged a tandem parachute jump which went catastrophically wrong, leading to the deaths of Belinda Taylor, 48, and her instructor Adam Harrison, 30, on Friday, June 13. The pair died in a field after their parachutes failed to open. A British Skydiving Board of Inquiry is investigating. In recent weeks the company had stopped answering calls and customers said bookings had been cancelled. Now Skydive Buzz has sent an email to those customers informing them of its decision. The letter, sent out on Thursday, July 24, says: "It is with regret that the directors have been required to make the difficult decision to cease operations with immediate effect. "It is proposed that the company be placed into compulsory liquidation in due course. "The Official Receiver should be in contact with creditors and customers to provide an update regarding the closure of the company and the proposed liquidation proceedings." One customer said she is currently £550 out of pocket after paying for three skydives. She said: 'We have contacted the voucher company that we got them from and because it's been over two years since we bought the vouchers (because our skydives have been cancelled three times now since 2023) we won't be getting our money back apparently. "I have always found them very helpful when the sky dives have been cancelled. "They have always been very accommodating so it's very frustrating to find out that this is basically now just lost money." Another customer said: "We were due to skydive Sunday, July 6 but it was cancelled due to weather. Brit SAS hero killed in parachute crash in South Africa at skydiving contest "They sent us a link to re-book but they had nothing else available the week we were in Devon. "We emailed them twice whilst we were there but no reply. Also tried calling once home. "Then I checked the website and Facebook page and noticed it was no longer there. "Luckily we booked through Virgin who have offered vouchers or a refund so money wise we are ok." Other customers include Marie Neal who was due to jump earlier this month having raised thousands of pounds for St Luke's Hospice in memory of her dad who was struck down with Hodgkin's Disease and died aged 57. Prior to receiving the email from the company, she said: "I have a lot of people that have sponsored me and St Luke's are waiting for their money but Buzz Skydiving seems to have disappeared." In the aftermath of the tragedy Skydive Buzz announced its intention to continue. It says the closure is due to financial reasons alone. A number of jobs will be lost but the company has not said how many. In its email the company has offered some advice to those with vouchers. It says: "It is advisable to contact the voucher company in the first instance (i.e. Virgin, Red Letter Days, Into the Blue, etc) to progress potential refunds. "Customers paying by credit card may be entitled to a refund through Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, subject to certain conditions. "Customers paying by debit card may be able to request a chargeback through their bank, subject to certain conditions. "We would like to thank our staff, customers and all involved with Sky Dive Buzz for their support over the years and apologise again that we have been left with little other option but to close." Inquests have been opened into the tragic deaths of Belinda, who lived in Totnes, and Adam, who lived in Bournemouth, Dorset. Belinda was a participant in the tandem skydive, with Adam as her instructor. The pair exited the aircraft and began the freefall, the inquest heard. The parachute did not open as expected and they died of injuries sustained in the fall. Belinda's partner Scott Armstrong spoke of his heartbreak after she died. Scott had bought Belinda the skydive as a "thank you" present, he said, after she let his nine-year-old son move into their home. Belinda had never jumped from an aircraft before, but was described as an adrenaline junkie who would try anything once.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Sport
- Arab News
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No — it's a Saudi aviation athlete
RIYADH: Most people live their lives on the ground, but Faisal Al-Olayan chose the sky. The Saudi aviation athlete, this week's guest on The Mayman Show, is an aerospace engineer, pilot, skydiver and a member of the Kingdom's national paragliding team. Most of us travel, but he chases storms, soars above mountains and dives into clouds in ways most of us only dream about. From experiencing rain that 'almost stops the heart' mid-flight to emotional moments when he completed his wingsuit training in Russia, Al-Olayan lives life one adrenaline rush at a time. His story is not so much about escaping gravity, as about finding freedom within it. 'I started having fun in flying because my mom, when I was young, she was telling me (I was) half bird. And when I started with this mentality, I started to do all of my activities in the sky. I started from graduating with sports until I am here with the national team,' said Al-Olayan. He began paramotoring in 2019, a form of ultralight aviation using a paraglider wing and a motor worn as a backpack. 'I started to train (in) paramotoring here in Riyadh,' he recalled. 'A paramotor is basically a parachute, but you have an engine (on) your back and you can foot-launch from anywhere.' He then planned to do his pilot training in the US, but the global pandemic and resulting lockdowns put paid to that. Al-Olayan loves to travel and has visited 67 countries to date. 'I started to take my paraglider with me to fly from mountains, I was getting more experience with this sport as a paraglider. And this is what makes me continue in all of those aerial sports,' he said. His role as an aerospace engineer also plays a big part in his experiences in the air. 'If you want to start to fly, you have to know aerodynamics … you have to know how the wind (is) flying and all of those things,' he explained. It also helped him become a fast learner and understand what was happening when he flew. 'There are two kinds of pilots. There is an experienced one and there is (an) experience and no physics one … it's like driving … you know how to drive the car, but you don't know anything about the car, you don't know about the engine,' he said. Al-Olayan added that was what made him fall in love with paramotoring and other sports. 'I even built my own paramotor. I was designing it, everything with my specifications and things like that,' he said. 'And all of that happened when I studied at KFUPM (King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals) in Dhahran.' For five years, he did nothing but study until he obtained his degree in aerospace engineering. After that, he started taking part in competitions, doing well enough to earn his place in Saudi Arabia's national paragliding team, run by the Saudi Paragliding Federation. 'Shaheen (is) the name of the paragliding organization. And that was like … a new chapter for me because to compete is something — you're holding your name — but now you compete with the Saudi name … bringing your flag and your clothes, and everyone is seeing you as a Saudi athlete,' he explained. 'It's not like Faisal, the old one, is coming to compete. In the competitions that I was in, (I) was less nervous and less pressured. But when I was going with the national team, it was much, much more pressure. But for me, I enjoyed it a lot because it was more exciting.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
'Adrenaline junkie' mother died on her first skydive alongside instructor when their 'parachute did not open as expected', inquest hears
A mother described as an 'adrenaline junkie' died on her first skydive - alongside her instructor - when their parachute failed to open as expected, an inquest has heard. Skydive instructor Adam Harrison and Belinda Taylor, who was strapped to him on her first jump, died when the parachute failed to open and they crashed to the ground.
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Wife shares final footage of Red Bull space jump icon Felix Baumgartner
The grieving partner of famed skydiver Felix Baumgartner shared tragic footage of the extreme athlete's final flight — just moments before he crashed and died. The 56-year-old — who was renowned as the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound — died in a paragliding accident in the Italian town of Porto Sant'Elpidio. The Austrian daredevil reportedly fell ill and lost consciousness while flying a motorised paraglider. Video shared by Baumgartner's longtime partner shows him preparing his parachute and starting the propeller of his paraglider before taking off into the cloudless summer sky. 'I was filming him taking off not knowing that this will be his last flight of his extraordinary life,' Miha Schwartzenberg, 55, who was with Baumgartner since 2014, wrote in a social media post accompanying the video which you can watch above. 'For over 12y I was there for every take off and landing, from skydiving, paragliding, helicopter flights, paramotor to aerobatic shows,' she wrote, adding that he was 'going home now, up there, where he was the happiest ever.' In the short clip, the adrenaline junkie is seen wearing shorts and a crash helmet as he fires up his propeller pack and runs across the grass to get airborne. As his wing fills with air and lifts him up from the ground, he tucks in his legs. Baumgartner achieved global fame in 2012 when he successfully skydived 24 miles from the edge of space to the ground, becoming the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. Schwartzenberg also recalled how when she hadn't been able to attend her partner's skydives, the couple had a 'WLC code,' or 'the Wifey Landing call,' when he got to the ground. 'Never missed one. Except … this one,' she added. The exact circumstances behind Baumgartner's death are still under investigation. The Red Bull-sponsored athlete is believed to have fallen ill midair which caused him to lose control and crash to the ground, into the side of a swimming pool, killing him instantly. A hotel employee on the ground was also injured in the fall when the paraglider struck them. Schwartzenberg, a Romanian-born TV presenter, also praised Baumgartner's fans who have reached out to her since her partner's tragic death. 'Thank you all for your support and for keeping his unique legacy high up. This man was truly special, in so many ways, and I'll make sure I'll keep telling his story,' she wrote. 'But now…., I have to deal with the shock, the pain, the sunrises where I get to make just one coffee, not two,' she said.
