OTTAWA, Ill. (MCT) — Karthik Balakrishnan was to return to his native India next week to help support his parents.
But before he left, the software engineer wanted to follow his passion and parachute solo for the first time.
“None of us liked it because we knew the dangers involved,” said his brother-in-law, Rajalingam Arunachalam. “But he was very passionate about it.”
His worst fears were realized when the 30-year-old Balakrishman died Sunday after encountering trouble shortly after his parachute opened in the skies northeast of Ottawa in Dayton Township. Witnesses say Balakrishnan went into “several radical turns” before he lost control and slammed to the ground, according to the La Salle County Sheriff’s office.
Balakrishnan had skydived several times, but always in tandem with an instructor, Arnachalam said. Sunday was his first solo outing.
Sgt. Greg Whalen, La Salle County Sheriff’s Department spokesman, said today he had seen Balakrishnan jump before.
Whalen said Balakrishnan’s parachute opened properly at the start of the fatal jump.
“After it opened, the victim went into radical turns and lost control,” Whalen noted. “He hit the ground at a high rate of speed.”
Wind could possibly have been a contributing factor.
“It was windy Sunday evening,” Whalen said.
Balakrishnan had come to the United States about five years ago to further his career, but he wanted to return home to help his brother support their parents, Arunachalam said.
The action reflected what kind of person he was: caring and family-oriented.
“I haven’t heard a single person complain about him,” Arunachalam said. “He had no bad habits.”
The family was excited to have Balakrishnan back home, and were also looking forward to his brother’s wedding next month, Arunachalam said. “It’s going to take months for me to return back to normal,” he said, choking back tears.
Arunachalam said he’s concerned for the safety of other skydivers, and hopes to learn more about his brother-in-law’s accident.
The accident happened about a mile east of the Skydive Chicago Dayton facility, sheriff’s officials said. He had flown out of the Skydive facility in Ottawa.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration are meeting with investigators from the La Salle County sheriff’s office. The La Salle County Coroner’s office is also investigating.
Officials from Skydive Chicago refused to comment on the accident.
Skydive Chicago owner, Rook Nelson, could not be reached for comment by press time today.
The incident was the first fatality of its kind at the facility since the death of its owner, Roger Nelson, in a skydiving accident about five years ago.
A string of skydiving fatalities occurred at the facility over a span of time in the early 2000s.
As of October of 2001, 10 fatal accidents had occurred at Skydive Chicago in a record dating back to 1983. The count included the time Skydive Chicago was located at Sandwich in DeKalb County, before moving to Dayton Township.
The deaths involved both experienced and inexperienced jumpers and entangled parachutes, which caused them to deflate.
One fatal jump occurred when an experienced skydiver plunged about 3,000 feet to the ground during a failed attempt to establish a world free-fall record at Skydive Chicago.