A skydiving instructor who died following a midair collision is the brother-in-law of NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson, according to the racer's foundation.
Just got off the phone w/Jimmie Johnson Foundation. It's confirmed, he is bro-in-law to Jordan Janway (skydiver who died yesterday) @10news
— Matt Mendes (@10NewsMendes) March 31, 2014Jordan Janway, 27, of San Diego was found dead near Otay Lakes late Sunday afternoon. He had been reported missing earlier in the day while teaching a group how to skydive. He was a contract employee for Skydive San Diego.
Buzz Fink, skydiving company's owner, said Sunday that Janway was practicing a maneuver called tracking when he collided with his jump partner's knee or leg.
"He was unable to deploy his parachute, probably because he was incapacitated after he hit the other jumper," Fink said.
The other jumper involved in the collision was not injured and was able to land in the drop zone.
Fink said the surviving jumper had a Cybernetic Parachute Release System (CYPRES), a reserve parachute which monitors a skydiver’s speed and altitude and automatically deploys if it senses a problem.
Janway was not using the system during his jump. Fink said the skydiver had a CYPRES, but it had been sent in for maintenance within the past couple of weeks.
Fink said Janway was an experienced skydiver who had completed more than 1,000 jumps.
