veteran instructor Herald Staff Writer
A Butler County man who taught at a Springfield Township skydive school died while BASE jumping in Twin Falls, Idaho Thursday afternoon. Jason Corcoran, 30, taught seven years as an instructor with Skydive Pennsylvania at 496 Old Ash Road. The skydive business has been in the area for 10 years. Skydive director Jeff Reckard called Corcoran "a good friend of Skydive. Jason was an extremely talented instructor. He taught a lot of people to skydive and he was good at it to say the least." Corcoran died while BASE jumping, which Reckard described as an "extreme" kind of skydiving. "BASE jumping is a sport that is typically affiliated with skydiving, but it's jumping from fixed objects like bridges, antennas, things like that. A bunch of guys from Skydive Pennsylvania make trips throughout the year to do this. Eight guys went out to Idaho to jump off a 480-foot bridge that you're allowed to jump from. People do thousands of base jumps from there," he said. BASE is an acronym for building, antenna, span and earth. According to reports, Corcoran jumped off Perrine Bridge in Idaho just before 4:30 p.m. and according to eyewitnesses, Corcoran did a back flip but his parachute opened just as he hit the water. He was pronounced dead at the scene. |
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