Even before Sunday’s death connected to Mile-Hi Skydiving in Longmont, the company was linked to 7% of U.S. skydiving deaths since 2018.

LONGMONT — A 60-year-old parachutist died Sunday afternoon after his parachute appeared not to fully open during a jump at Mile-Hi Skydiving in Longmont, marking at least the seventh death connected to the facility since 2018.

According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 3 p.m. Sunday to a field in the 10000 block of North 75th Street, west of Vance Brand Airport, after receiving a 911 call reporting a parachutist who was not breathing and not responsive. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been publicly identified.

A witness told deputies they saw the parachutist a few hundred feet above the ground, descending quickly in a spin, and it appeared his parachute was not fully open, according to the sheriff’s office. The parachutist was solo-qualified to make jumps.

Emergency dispatchers were heard on audio recordings asking someone to contact Mile-Hi Skydiving to determine if any skydivers were missing.

“Could you give Mile-Hi a call and ask if they’re missing any skydivers?” one dispatcher said.

“We’re on the phone with them,” another person responded.

Mile-Hi Skydiving states on its website that it conducts 35,000 jumps every year. Since 2018, at least seven jumpers connected to the facility have died: two in 2018, two in 2019, one in 2021, one in 2024, and now one in 2025. 

Data from the U.S. Parachute Association shows that between 2018 and 2024, there were 88 skydiving deaths recorded in the U.S. The previous six deaths associated with Mile-Hi Skydiving are nearly 7% of all skydiving-connected deaths in the United States during that period, according to U.S. Parachute Association data. Data from 2025 is not yet available.

Skydiving deaths remain relatively uncommon nationally, with no more than 20 recorded in a single year since 2018, according to the U.S. Parachute Association. The organization recorded 13 deaths in 2018, 15 in 2019, 11 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 20 in 2022, 10 in 2023, and nine in 2024.

Patrick Gire, 40, of Denver, suffered a traumatic brain injury during a skydiving accident in September 2018. He spent nine months in rehabilitation before dying in June 2019. Family members told 9NEWS at the time that Gire had completed more than 6,000 skydiving jumps in the previous 10 years and worked as an instructor and videographer with Mile-Hi Skydiving.

In October 2018, Logan Polfuss, 23, died during his first jump using a tracking suit. Boulder County deputies said he was an experienced skydiver who had completed about 180 jumps. His body was found in a field near Vance Brand Municipal Airport the day after he jumped. His death was ruled an accident.

In May 2019, Timothy DeTine, 57, of Littleton, died during a jump. The following month, on June 29, 2019, Brock Barto, 30, died after misjudging his landing at Vance Brand Municipal Airport and hitting the ground hard, according to Longmont police. Nurses tried to help him at the scene, but he was taken to a hospital where he later died.

In June 2021, Sergio Lee Gonzales, 26, of Boulder, died following a solo jump. 

In January 2024, Gregory Coates, 36, died while wearing a wingsuit when neither his primary nor reserve parachute deployed, according to police in Longmont.

Following Barto’s death in 2019, Mile-Hi Skydivers released a statement addressing the multiple fatalities.

“We will honor his memory in our hearts and minds and will continue to adhere to the highest levels of safety going forward,” the statement read.

The company acknowledged it had been a difficult year with an unusually high number of incidents.

“All the recent accidents involve highly experienced and qualified skydivers,” the statement said. “Skydiving is a challenge-by-choice sport, and as skydivers progress, they often challenge themselves with new canopy skills, different types of suits and different styles of flying.”

The U.S. Parachute Association has previously described Mile-Hi as one of the busiest skydiving locations in the country in other media reports.

9NEWS made multiple attempts to reach Mile-Hi Skydiving for comment on Sunday’s incident. Neither a call nor an email was returned.