A daredevil skydiver has tragically died while testing his new parachute for the first time.
Simone Bacchiega had over 600 parachute jumps to his name and was considered an expert.
The 51-year-old carried out his last ever skydive from an altitude of over 13,000ft (4,000m) on Wednesday morning (25 Mar).
READ MORE: Murdered model’s head decapitated and stolen from cemetery
About 130ft (40m) from the ground, he allegedly made a sudden turn in an attempt to correct his landing trajectory.
But he lost control and plunged to his death.
Witness said crosswinds may have played a role.
Simone, who came from Cremona in Italy, had visited the island of Sardinia with two friends to carry out the jump.
According to reports, he was eager to try out the new Crossfire 109 high-performance skydiving canopy he bought several weeks ago.
It was the first jump he carried out with his new parachute.
Simone’s friends were watching as he fell to his death, as reported by Need To Know.
The emergency services arrived on the scene, but all attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
The accident took place at the Is Paulis airfield in Sardinia.
Valentino, one of the field instructors, said: “The fall was terrible.
“The ambulance arrived within minutes and they immediately began CPR.
“Unfortunately, there was nothing more that could be done.”
The prosecutor’s office seized the victim’s equipment to reconstruct the events leading up to his death and establish whether there was a technical fault.
Simone ran his own home maintenance company and had a passion for skydiving and boxing.
He leaves behind a son and a daughter.
READ MORE: Woman convicted over ‘illegal butt injection’ death of Kim Kardashian-lookalike model
