ELOY, Ariz. — An attempt to set a world skydiving record by having 222 people free-fall from an airplane in formation turned tragic Thursday when one of the jumpers died during the daring effort.
Sergeant Brian Jerome with the Eloy Police Department identified the victim as Diana Paris, 46, from Berlin. Her husband told police she had completed 1,500 jumps.
Skydive Arizona blamed the accident on a malfunctioning parachute that was released too low to the ground to allow a reserve parachute to fully open.
‘‘It had nothing to do with the size of the group or the aircraft,’’ World Team spokeswoman Gulcin Gilbert said. ‘‘It was a malfunction of the parachute.’’
The accident occurred during an attempt to break a world record for what is called a ‘‘formation jump.’’
The group was to free-fall from 18,000 feet, come together in a formation before separating and doing another formation, then pull their parachutes.