Wingsuit flyer dies in Calif. skydiving crash

SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal Aviation Administration investigators are probing the death of a man who wore a wingsuit in a Northern California skydiving crash. 

Matthew Ciancio, 42, crashed Wednesday afternoon after undertaking a jump with the Lodi Parachute Center, about 30 miles south from Sacramento. 

Bill Dause, a spokesman for the parachute center, said witnesses told him that Ciancio jumped from 13,000 feet and released his parachute at about 4,000 feet. Ciancio and the chute spun wildly. It appeared as though Ciancio failed to deploy emergency procedures, which include releasing the bad parachute and pulling the cord of a backup chute. 

Dause said he believed that Ciancio released the main chute, "but it was too late." 

Wingsuit flying, which relies on the use of a specialized jumpsuit often referred to as a wingsuit, squirrel suit or birdman suit, is one of the most extreme forms of BASE jumping, an acronym for leaping from a building, antenna, span or Earth. Wingsuits can send people soaring through the air at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour. 

The jumpsuit is made of two arm wings and a leg wing, which are supported by the use of inflatable pressurized nylon cells. Wearing the suit increases lift and allows the skydiver to fly horizontal distances at a slower descent rate, increasing their time in freefall. 

A wingsuit flyer uses his body, as well as the suit, to control his forward speed, direction and lift. A beginner wingsuit has smaller wings, while more advanced ones have larger wings. As a wingsuit flyer gains experience, he can increase his forward speed, reduce his downward speed and fly more advanced suits.

The United States Parachute Association does not track the number of people who skydive in wingsuits, but a representative said it's a growing number. 

"It's definitely grown in popularity a lot over the last several years," said Nancy Koreen, director of sport promotion with the association. 

A skydiver who wants to jump wearing a wingsuit must first complete 200 regular skydives, Koreen said. 

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said investigators plan to talk to first responders and any witnesses to the accident, review any video evidence, and examine the skydiver's parachute to determine whether it was properly packed. 

There have been eight wingsuit skydiving deaths in the U.S. since 2011, according to the United States Parachute Association.  

According to CBS San Francisco, three people died last year in accidents near the Lodi Parachute Center. A tightly packed skydiving plane carrying 18 people also landed upside down in an Acampo vineyard last May. 

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.