It’s a skydiver with ten years of experience and more than 2,000 jumps to his credit who lost his life under the gaze of his five friends in Victoriaville on Saturday afternoon.
• Also read: Man dies in parachute crash
“Obviously it’s hard to see what I experienced on Saturday, I never expected to experience that with an experienced jumper like him,” said the victim’s best friend, Dan Bégin, who was present at the time of the accident.
The victim, Maxime Bernatchez, described as one of the province’s top skydivers, lost control of his parachute less than 150 feet from the ground while jumping from a height of 6,000 feet.
Photo taken from Facebook
Maxim Bernatchez
After several turns in the air, the 39-year-old ended his run against a pole lying on the ground.
His friends, in turn, practiced resuscitation maneuvers while waiting for help to arrive. His death was pronounced at the hospital.
circumstances
With a clear sky and obviously good flight conditions, the six friends climbed into the specially rented helicopter.
Screenshot, Facebook
The experienced skydivers had organized the activity independently from the city’s skydiving school and used their own equipment.
“People think it was a reckless jump, but it was very calm. Maxime went to the trouble of unstacking his parachute which had been folded for 2 or 3 days to make sure everything was safe,” explained his best friend Dan Bégin, of ten years.
Recent recorded parachuting accidents in Quebec mention technical problems in deploying the tarpaulin, particularly due to mixed ropes or misfolded parachutes. In this case, however, Mr. Bernatchez’s parachute was properly folded and, according to those present, could have easily deployed during his jump.
Equipment malfunction could be the cause, according to witnesses at the scene.
A shower of honors
Following the announcement, thrill-seeking social media was flooded with messages of support for the family.
“He always had 36,000 projects, he loved everyone, he always wanted people to be good and happy,” recalls Justine Doré-Champagne, one of his childhood friends.
Maxime Bernatchez shared his passion for adrenaline on his YouTube channel as well as on his social networks, which he regularly fed.
Investigations into the exact cause of the accident are ongoing.
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