Chute mishap kills Elvis skydiver, student

LAS VEGAS - A skydiving instructor who died along with his student after their parachutes failed to open near the Nevada-Arizona border Sunday was among those who jumped from an airplane dressed as Elvis Presley in the movie "Honeymoon in Vegas."

The Clark County coroner's office identified the two Monday as 60-year-old James Fonnesbeck of Weston, Idaho, and his 75-year-old student Claudette Porter of North Las Vegas.

Police in Mesquite, Nev., say the two were on a tandem jump Sunday when their main parachute failed. Fonnesbeck died at the scene, while Porter died at a hospital.

Police spokesman Jeffrey Smith says the instructor tried to deploy a backup chute, but it only partially opened before they hit the Mesquite airport's runway.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

Smith says Fonnesbeck had been skydiving for 30 years. Friend and Skydive Mesquite owner Brad Jessey says Fonnesbeck was among the team of skydiving Elvis impersonators in the 1992 "Honeymoon" film.