Nashville - Cornelia Fort Airport

Submitted by Bill Long
C-5852 D-2717 SCR-705 GW 697

When I was a CAP cadet in high school, we used to fly out of Cornelia 
Fort Airport in Nashville, TN.  There was an active skydiving club 
there.  One day in '64 or '65, I observed a double fatality there: a female student 
was on a 15 sec delay; her jumpmaster was going to dive down and give 
her her first contact.  She pulled early in his face.  He opened his 
parachute, but too late.  He streamered her parachute; his foot got 
caught in her harness which ripped his foot off.  She streamered all the 
way in.  He floated off across the river, but bled to dead by the time 
he was reached.

Interesting part was:  up until that time, I had no interest in 
skydiving.  After that, I wanted to in the worst way.  Finally made my 
first jump at Darbydale, OH, in 1968 when I turned 21.