Skydiver killed in Calif. had tried to set record

During the fatal jump, man may have struck the tail of the plane

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updated 6:36 p.m. ET Nov. 12, 2009

MURRIETA, Calif. - A skydiver killed during a jump this week had tried earlier in the day to set a parachuting record in a charity event, friends and officials said Thursday.

Stephen Millard Harrington, 40, of Boston was pronounced dead Wednesday after landing in a driveway in this Riverside County bedroom community, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Harrington died during a late-afternoon jump he made for fun with four other skydivers. Hours before that, he had taken part in a successful jump by 68 people trying to set a U.S. record for formations of parachutists wearing wingsuits — special jumpsuits with panels stretching under the arms and between the legs that allow skydivers to stay longer in free fall and provide greater maneuverability.

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The jump raised $5,000 for a Los Angeles charity, said Eli Bolotin of Raise the Sky, the nonprofit Massachusetts-based group that sponsored the event.

The jump was expected to be officially certified as a record by the United States Parachute Association, he added.

Adam Wright, his longtime companion in Boston, said Harrington text-messaged him after the jump to say he was excited about breaking a record.

During the fatal jump, Harrington may have struck the tail of the plane, Wright said.

"There was a laceration on his chin — and so, it was probably his chin that hit the plane and it probably knocked him unconscious, although that's not clear," Wright said.

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Harrington, an experienced skydiver, spent months preparing for the event.

"Skydiving in general was very important to him and he was a very charitable person," Wright said.