SC skydiver, 65, dies after parachute malfunctions in Chester

A South Carolina man who had been sky diving in Chester died Sunday afternoon after his parachute malfunctioned after he jumped from a plane 13,000 feet in the air, authorities said.

Wolfgang Langehans, 65, of Columbia was pronounced dead at the scene, said Chester County Deputy Coroner Tommy Williams. He will undergo an autopsy on Monday.

A preliminary cause of death, Williams said, is body trauma from the fall.

Authorities are still investigating what happened to Langehans' parachute as he dived. He was participating in a jump with Skydive Carolina on King Air Drive in Chester, Williams said.

Langehans was an experienced diver and credited with more than 5,500 jumps in his 30 years as a diving hobbyist, according to a Skydive Carolina news release.

This story was originally published May 5, 2014 at 11:39 AM with the headline "SC skydiver, 65, dies after parachute malfunctions in Chester."