Devin Hutchinson recently shared his harrowing experience of tandem skydiving from a plane before it crashed, killing all three onboard.
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North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers reported that pilot Adam Plummer and passengers Scott George and Charles Mather Jr. perished in a Cessna 182 crash in a remote part of Rutherford County, Tennessee. All three individuals were residents of South Carolina.
Hutchinson and his friends, who had long wanted to go skydiving but struggled to find the right time, finally made it happen during Hutchinson’s bachelor trip. They started their Sunday at Johnson County Airport in Mountain City, Tennessee, a small airport with about 10 or 12 planes.
“Our instructors and the pilot flew in and we got to meet them and they walked us through everything, made us comfortable. They were super great,” he told ABC affiliate WLOS.
He mentioned that they had to separate due to the plane’s limited size. He also recalled flying with instructor Scott George, one of the three individuals who tragically lost their lives in the crash.
“The instructor that I jumped with said ‘How does it feel? You just jumped out of a plane, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,'” Hutchinson recalled.
Following His Skydive, Hutchinson Realized The Plane He Jumped From Crashed
What began as an incredible memory turned somber when Hutchinson saw the news the next morning. Initially, he didn’t think much of it, but when he recognized the airport the plane had departed from, he looked up the tail number. It was then he realized it was the same plane they had been on.
“They were great at what they do,” Hutchinson said of the crew. “They were super relatable and they were just fun to be around. You could tell they were full of joy, and they had a great time doing what they were doing,” he added.
Hutchinson believes the crew affected many lives in a positive way.
“I mean, every person they jump with, that’s a huge deal to that person, and it’s just crazy how much they impacted me because that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” he explained.
Hutchinson spent a few hours with the crew. However, he said he will always remember how they lived life to the fullest and the lasting impact they had on him.