Woman dies in skydiving accident

CULPEPER — A Lynchburg woman died Saturday afternoon in a skydiving accident during a tandem parachute jump at Orange County Airport, according to the Virginia State Police.

This is the second skydiving death at the airport in less than two months.

The jump, which occurred Saturday around noon, involved licensed parachutist Douglas Zelbey, 44, of Virginia Beach and tandem partner April Haag, 40, of Lynchburg. Haag was flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center and died Sunday at 1 p.m. from her injuries, VSP spokesman Sgt. Les Tyler said.

Zelbey was also transported to U.Va. His condition was not available.

Tyler, who released the information Tuesday afternoon, said the couple experienced "a hard landing" but could not elaborate about what caused the accident, which is still under investigation.

According to Haag's obituary in the Lynchburg News & Advance, she was an active member of Heritage Baptist Church. Haag was retired from the Lynchburg Juvenile Detention Center, where she worked for more than 14 years.

Funeral services were scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. at Heritage Baptist Church in Lynchburg. Visitation for family and friends were Wednesday.

On Sept. 22, Francis Wootten III, 54, of Ruckersville, died from injuries sustained during a group parachute jump at OCA. According to a State Police report, Wootten's parachute became entangled with another skydiver's, sending the two men freefalling. Wootten died hours later.

Calls to skydiving company Skydive Orange were not returned as of press time. It is unclear if Haag and Zelbey were jumping with the company.

Before Wootten's death in September, the last skydiving deaths in the area were in 2006. According to the Fredericksburg-based United States Parachute Association, a man jumping with Skydiving Orange died in August 2006 when his parachute failed to open properly.

Another man died in neighboring Louisa County in May 2006 during a jump with Skydive Virginia.

Catherine Amos is a staff writer with the Culperper Star-Exponent.