TWO EXPERIENCED FEMALE SKYDIVERS DIE IN TRAGIC MID-AIR COLLISION DURING RECORD-SETTING TRAINING IN CALIFORNIA

A training session that brought together women skydivers pursuing a record-breaking achievement ended in tragedy when two experienced athletes collided just 150 feet above the ground.

Two experienced female skydivers have died after a devastating mid-air collision during an organized training event in Southern California.

The victims were identified as 29-year-old Levi Pimentel of Aurora, Illinois, and 56-year-old Georgia Jean of Box Elder, South Dakota, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.

The accident happened on Friday, November 6, at Skydive Elsinore in Lake Elsinore, California, where the women had traveled to participate in a special skydiving event.

The group was reportedly training for an attempt to set a California record for the largest women’s upright skydiving formation — a challenging maneuver in which participants appear to be sitting upright while falling through the air.

A routine jump turned into a fatal emergency

According to Skydive Elsinore, the free-fall portion of the jump and the opening of both parachutes appeared to proceed normally.

But as the skydivers prepared to land, tragedy struck.

At approximately 150 feet above the ground, Pimentel and Jean collided in mid-air. The impact caused their parachutes to become entangled, leaving both women unable to complete a safe landing.

Emergency crews responded after receiving reports of an air emergency shortly before noon.

Both women suffered critical injuries and were transported to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar. Despite emergency medical efforts, they were pronounced dead at the hospital.

The skydiving company said there was no indication of equipment malfunction and confirmed that both women were experienced, licensed skydivers visiting from out of town.

Two women with remarkable skydiving experience

Behind the tragedy were two women who had dedicated years of their lives to the sport.

Georgia Jean had been skydiving since 2015 and had completed more than 1,700 jumps. She also competed in the 2024 United States Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships, where she earned a bronze medal in an intermediate formation skydiving event.

Levi Pimentel was also highly accomplished. She worked as a lead instructor at iFLY Naperville, an indoor skydiving facility in Illinois, and had completed more than 600 jumps.

Pimentel had previously been part of a team that helped establish a women’s head-down skydiving world record in 2022. She was also preparing to participate in another major record attempt involving a women’s upright formation.

Their experience and dedication made the news of their deaths especially heartbreaking for the skydiving community.

FAA investigation underway

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the Federal Aviation Administration had been notified.

The FAA is expected to collect the parachutes for further examination as investigators work to determine exactly what happened during the final moments of the jump.

At this stage, authorities have not announced a definitive cause beyond the reported mid-air collision and entanglement. There is also no indication that equipment failure contributed to the accident.

The investigation remains ongoing.

A heartbreaking loss for the skydiving community

Skydiving requires extensive training, coordination, precision and trust — particularly during formation jumps, when multiple participants must maintain carefully controlled positions in the air.

For the women who gathered in California, the event represented a shared ambition and a chance to achieve something extraordinary.

Instead, it became a day of unimaginable loss.

Skydive Elsinore expressed its deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of both women, saying the organization was grieving alongside everyone affected by the tragedy.

Two experienced skydivers who traveled to California with dreams of reaching new heights will not be coming home.

Their lives, achievements and passion for the sport will be remembered by those who knew them.