Soldier Dies After Parachuting Accident in Ohio

Updated 4:49 p.m. ET

The Ohio National Guard says a soldier has died four days after being injured in a parachuting accident during an airborne training exercise.

The guard says the soldier died early Sunday morning at a hospital in Columbus.

The soldier hasn't been identified.

The soldier was one of four who were taken to hospitals following jumps Wednesday afternoon at the Rickenbacker Air National Guard base near Columbus.

The soldiers were among 56 troops from the Guard and Army Reserve taking part in a routine monthly jump that had 56 soldiers parachuting 1,250 feet from a C-130 military cargo plane, said David Johnson, a spokesman for the Army Reserve 412th Civil Affairs Battalion in Columbus.

They caught a wind gust and hit the ground hard, officials said.

The injured men "caught some extra wind and landed hard," Johnson said. "The wind will catch it and the parachute won't deflate, and the paratrooper keeps going," getting dragged.

Wind speeds at the airport at the time were 15 mph, with gusts up to 22 mph, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Jeffrey Sites. He said such speeds are not significant but would feel breezy.

One of the men landed on the airport tarmac, while the other three came down on the grass. The injured soldiers were ages 26 to 45.

Hard landings are not uncommon during the monthly jumps, but the injuries are usually less serious, like sprained ankles and scrapes, Johnson said.

The plane was flown by an Air Force Reserve unit out of Pittsburgh.