Australian champion skydiver plunges to her death while testing out new jumping method in the US: ‘Skydiving was her life’
- Australian skydiver died in the US
- Melissa Porter was testing new jump
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An Australian champion skydiver has died while testing out a new jumping method in the United States just weeks after she helped set a national record.
Melissa Porter, from Port Kennedy in Western Australia, died at the Skydive Spaceland Houston facility in Texas on June 24.
Horrified spectators reportedly saw a parachute deploy after Ms Porter jumped out of the plane but then made a hard landing.
Ms Porter’s death was confirmed by local police on Sunday after friends identified her body, sparking an outpouring of tributes from shocked family and friends.
Australia’s skydiving community has been rocked by shock death of Melissa Porter
Ms Porter had spent at least a month in Texas preparing for the jump and recently shared footage of herself training at iFLY El Paso.
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‘Finally sent some head down in the tunnel,’ she captioned the video.
Fellow skydivers have taken to social media to express their grief and pay tribute.
‘We lost such a beautiful person. Rest peacefully Mel,’ one wrote.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to Ms Porter’s devastated family.
‘We send our deepest condolences to the woman’s family,’ a DFAT spokesperson added.
Porter helped set a skydiving record in Queensland in May.
She was one of 23 women who jumped at Skydive Ramblers in Toogoolawah on May 6, completing the ‘2-point 23 way’, an Australian women’s total-break sequential record.
More to come
