An unidentified Navy SEAL Leap Frogs team member died Sunday after his parachute failed to deploy during a Hudson River Fleet Week demonstration. Onlookers watched in disbelief as the parachutist plummeted towards the Hudson. Coast Guard and local EMS responders who were on standby, retrieved the SEAL from the water and he was pronounced dead at a hospital at 1:10 p.m.
A Navy spokesman, who declined to name the elite member of the Navy parachute team, said the accident occurred shortly after noon near Liberty State Park. Photos from the scene showed law officials standing around what appeared to be a parachute strewn out onto the park pavement.
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A photo posted on the Leap Frogs’ official Leap Frogs Facebook page hours before the jump read, “New York City look to the skies at 12:00. We’ll be jumping into Liberty State Park today for Memorial Day Weekend and in celebration of Navy Fleet Week.”
The jump featured three “Leap Frogs” hurling out of a helicopter over the Hudson. It was the last of the maneuvers to complete their aerial performance.
The cause of the single parachute malfunction is under investigation.
Three ships stationed in Norfolk participated in the Fleet Week demonstration — the USS Kearsarge, USS San Jacinto, and the USS Monterey.