Experienced skydiver killed in midair collision during group jump in Washington state

A 70-year-old skydiver with more than 800 jumps to his name died Sunday evening after colliding midair with another jumper during a scheduled group dive near Colville in northeast Washington, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Monday.

Randy Hubbs, of the Kennewick area in southeastern Washington, became incapacitated after the collision and lost control of his parachute canopy, drifting away from the designated drop zone before disappearing beyond a hill. He was later pronounced dead. The second jumper, Nicole Klein of Colville, sustained injuries that required treatment at a medical facility.

The incident unfolded around 5:30 p.m. Sunday at West Plains Skydiving, where 11 individuals were scheduled to participate in the jump operation. Both Hubbs and Klein were experienced skydivers using their own personally owned equipment, a detail that rules out the kind of rental-gear malfunction that sometimes haunts less seasoned jumpers. Klein had logged roughly 900 jumps. Hubbs had completed more than 800.

What witnesses saw from the ground

Multiple staff members on the ground tracked Hubbs after the collision from approximately 500 feet above ground level. What they described was grim: his head and arms appeared to go limp, and he became unresponsive while still under canopy.

With no conscious input on the parachute controls, Hubbs drifted north and away from the drop zone. He disappeared beyond a hill to the northeast, out of the staff’s line of sight. Adams County Dispatch then received reports of a medical emergency in the 2000 block of E. Schoessler Road involving two injured skydivers.

Deputies responded to the scene. Hubbs was released into the care of the Adams County Coroner’s Office. The sheriff’s office posted a statement to Facebook confirming the fatality and the ongoing investigation.

“On scene, Deputies learned of a mid-air collision resulting in one of the skydivers becoming deceased and the second sustaining injuries requiring additional treatment at a medical facility.”

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office added a brief note of sympathy: “We offer our deepest condolences to those impacted by this incident.”

Two veterans of the sport, not beginners

West Plains Skydiving issued its own statement to local media, emphasizing that neither jumper was a novice.

“Both jumpers were experienced and used personally owned equipment.”

That distinction matters. A combined 1,700-plus jumps between two people suggests deep familiarity with freefall procedures, canopy navigation, and the spatial awareness required in group formations. Breitbart reported that Hubbs was 70 years old, a reminder that sport skydiving draws committed participants well into their later decades, and that experience alone does not eliminate risk.

What caused the two jumpers to collide remains unknown. The sheriff’s office has not released any preliminary findings on whether the collision occurred during freefall or under canopy, at what altitude it happened, or whether visibility, wind, or human error played a role.

Weather conditions, for their part, do not appear to have been a contributing factor, though authorities have not described the actual conditions at the time of the jump.

Key questions the investigation must answer

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office says its investigation remains ongoing, but several significant gaps persist. No one has publicly explained the mechanics of the collision, whether it occurred during the group formation, during separation, or on approach to the drop zone. The altitude at which the two skydivers made contact has not been disclosed.

Klein’s current medical condition and the nature of her injuries have not been detailed beyond the initial statement that she required treatment at a medical facility. Whether she was conscious and able to control her own canopy after the collision is not addressed in any public statement.

The New York Post confirmed the same core details, Hubbs’ identity, his 800-plus jumps, and the Sunday evening timeline, drawing from the same Adams County Sheriff’s Office account. No additional investigative findings have surfaced from any source.

Midair collisions in recreational aviation and skydiving, while relatively rare, carry outsized consequences precisely because the margin for recovery is so thin. A collision at altitude during freefall leaves time; a collision at 500 feet under canopy leaves almost none. The fact that staff tracked Hubbs from roughly 500 feet suggests the collision may have occurred at or near that altitude, though authorities have not confirmed the sequence.

The sport of skydiving has its own internal safety culture, with drop zones typically enforcing landing patterns and separation protocols during group jumps. Whether those protocols were followed, and whether the 11-person jump size created congestion, are questions only the investigation can resolve.

Midair collisions in aviation of all kinds remain a persistent hazard. Earlier this year, two Navy Growler jets collided midair at an Idaho air show, though all four crew members ejected safely. In recreational skydiving, the outcomes are often less forgiving.

A community absorbs the loss

Hubbs traveled from Kennewick, more than 300 miles to the southeast, to jump at West Plains Skydiving near Colville. That kind of commitment speaks to a man who pursued the sport seriously, not casually. With more than 800 jumps behind him, he was not chasing a thrill ride. He was practicing a discipline he had chosen for years.

Klein, a local resident with roughly 900 jumps of her own, now recovers from injuries sustained in the same collision that took his life. The gap between those two outcomes, one dead, one injured, may come down to the angle of impact, the position of each jumper’s canopy, or a dozen other variables that investigators will need to reconstruct.

For now, the Adams County Coroner’s Office holds Hubbs’ remains, and the sheriff’s office continues its work. No formal cause-of-death determination has been announced. No regulatory body has publicly weighed in.

Eleven people went up for a group jump on a Sunday evening in northeast Washington. Ten came back down alive. The facts will come out in time. They always do. But for one family in Kennewick, the wait for answers has already lasted too long.