Skydiver uninjured after hitting powerlines north of Auckland, emergency services rush to scene

• A skydiver hit powerlines during a jump at Skydive Auckland in Parakai this morning.
• The experienced male skydiver was unhurt, and emergency services were called.
• Operations manager Fiona McLaren said the incident was due to human error, not weather conditions.

A skydiver has hit powerlines during a jump north of Auckland.

The skydiver wasn’t hurt, Skydive Auckland operations manager Fiona McLaren said.

“We can confirm a skydiver has landed off the landing area ... in powerlines.

“They’re absolutely fine. They’re now in the hangar with us and the emergency services were called.”

The male skydiver was experienced, she said.

Asked if the weather had a part to play in the crash she said: “Nope. Human error.”

Emergency services rushed to the scene in Parakai, at Skydive Auckland.

The incident occurred about 11.50am.

The powerlines were not down on the ground, but the power was cut, McLaren said.

The experienced skydiver was unhurt after the incident. Photo / Alex Burton

“No, nothing as exciting as that. It probably sounds more exciting than it is. The powerlines are absolutely fine. The person’s absolutely fine.”

The skydiver was on the ground and didn’t need to be helped down, she said.

A Vector spokesman couldn’t immediately confirm the extent of the outage, and how long power would be out for, but the lines company’s online outage map show there was an unplanned outage in the Parakai area this afternoon.

Vector's outage map shows there is an unplanned power outage in parts of Parakai as of 12.30pm. A skydiver crash landed into power lines at Skydive Auckland in Green Rd, Parakai just before noon. Image / Vector

The incident would be investigated, McLaren said just after noon.

“Every occurrence gets investigated – near misses, incidents. We’re very proactive. But it’s literally just happened.”

One fire truck was sent to the scene, said the Fire and Emergency Northern Communications shift manager, Hayley Prince.

But the parachutist had already safely detached from the parachute and was on the ground when the crew from the Helensville Volunteer Fire Brigade arrived, Prince said.

They’d now left, she said.

A Vector spokesman said they had switched off power to the area.

“Our crew is on site now to help ensure safety at the scene, and we’ve also been able to restore power to the vast majority of homes in the area. We’ll remain on site to assist with the removal of the parachute.”

Fatal incidents

It is not the first time a skydive has gone wrong at the site.

In 2019 a 27-year-old Irish tourist died after suffering critical injuries in a jump.

John (Jack) Creane was a skydiving instructor for Skydive Auckland. His parachute was only partially deployed and he suffered multiple injuries after landing on his head.

Then in March 2022, Sarah-Jane Bayram died when a nine-person “speed star” formation jump in the skies over Muriwai Beach northwest of Auckland went wrong.

Bayram, 43, was blown more than 1km out to sea to her death after colliding with another jumper during the jump from 13,000 feet.

Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.