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Parachute lands in Pottawatomie Bayout; skydiver safely lands at airport

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GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Mich.  — Rescue crews responded Saturday night to reports of a parachute landing in Pottawatomie Bayou in Grand Haven Township – and possibly a man who had not surfaced from the water.

But soon rescuers learned it was just the parachute that had landed in the bayou off Mercury Drive. It was around 8:50 p.m. Saturday.

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office says its investigation later revealed members of the Sky Drive Grand Haven club had been flying around the Grand Haven Airport when one of their sky divers had a parachute malfunction.

Skydivers told FOX 17 at the scene the man was able to cut his primary parachute away and deploy his reserve chute before landing safely at the airport. The Sheriff’s Office said the same in a news release:

“The parachute that fell into Pottawatomie bayou was the primary parachute that had been cut away and no one had been attached to it when it fell into the bayou. The parachute was recovered by bystanders and returned to the staff of Sky Dive Grand Haven.”

Besides the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, other agencies that responded to the bayou were the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety and Grand Haven Township Fire-Rescue.