Platte City man killed in weekend skydiving accident

A Platte City man was killed in a weekend skydiving accident after he collided with another skydiver and they became entangled in each other’s parachutes.

Mark Leslie Jungk, 54, died in the accident during a 4:30 p.m. jump Saturday near Osage City, Kan., said Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Jordan Plachecki.

The other skydiver, a 23-year-old Hoyt, Kan., man, broke free of the entanglement and landed safely without injury, using his reserve parachute.

The two men both were experienced skydivers and licensed through the United States Parachute Association, said Jen Sharp, the owner of Skydive Kansas, which operates out of the Osage City Municipal Airport.

The two were friends and had planned the jump. They exited the plane together and had an uneventful free fall, she said.

“Both skydivers opened their parachutes, which were fully functioning and flying,” Sharp said.

Soon after the two collided and became entangled. At about 3,500 feet, the skydivers were wrapped in each other’s lines and canopies and were spinning, witnesses said.

The two talked to each other and tried to sort through the entanglement, but the lines wouldn’t untangle, Sharp said. At about 2,000 feet, the 23-year-old jumper pulled the handle to release his main parachute and get clear. He opened his reserve parachute and landed without injury.

Jungk, however, could not free himself from the entanglement. He deployed his reserve parachute, but it did not clear the entanglement and didn’t open.

“He tried everything that was available to him,” Sharp said. Jungk was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sharp said Jungk was a friend and a longtime jumper at Skydive Kansas, where he accumulated about 350 skydives. He was honored for having the most jumps at Skydive Kansas last year.

Jungk mentored younger jumpers while improving his own skills and education, Sharp said.

“The loss is a great deal for all of us who knew him for all those years,” Sharp said.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Platte City man killed in weekend skydiving accident."