A 28-year-old man has died following a skydiving accident in Orange, Massachusetts, on Sunday, July 12, 2026.
Authorities said the victim was Mani Chandra Teja Gaddam, a Boston-based software engineer. According to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office on Monday, he fell from about 30 feet ‘when a gust of wind interfered with his parachute.’ He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Jumptown Skydiving, the facility where the incident occurred, said the accident was caused by an ‘unpredictable weather event’ in a statement issued to NBC station WBTS.
“We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at our facility and extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of the skydiver involved,” the company said in a statement.
“A sudden and unpredictable weather event appears to have caused the incident, and we are fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities as they conduct a thorough review. Out of respect for the investigative process and those affected, we will not comment further while the review is ongoing.”
A GoFundMe page created after Gaddam’s death says he had been ‘awarded an A License from the United States Parachute Association’. According to the USPA website, people with this certification can ‘jump without supervision, pack their own main parachute, engage in formation skydives, train for and perform landings in water,’ the USP site states.
To earn the license, the site says a skydiver must complete 25 free-fall jumps and have ‘completed all requirements listed on the USPA A-License Progression Card.’
The qualification process also includes written, oral, and practical testing.
His family wrote on the GoFundMe page: “He was excited to continue exploring the sport he loved and the adventures that lay ahead.
“Chandra was an exceptionally bright, kind, and hardworking young man with a passion for learning and embracing new challenges.”
They also said he had only recently begun his professional career after graduating from Northeastern University.
Skydiving remains an inherently risky sport, but the U.S. Parachute Association says its members made an estimated 3.47 million skydives in 2025, with 16 civilian skydiving fatalities recorded in the United States that year. The association also reported that 5.6% of participants said they experienced an injury that required medical treatment in 2025.
The case remains under investigation, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the 28-year-old’s cause of death.