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A large part of the heart and soul of Atlanta Skydiving Center was lost on Friday morning when Nate Gilbert sustained fatal injuries during a skydiving accident.



In a horribly ironic twist of fate, Nate died while trying to help a fellow skydiver. Nate became entangled in another jumper’s cutaway main he caught in an attempt to bring it to a clear area so it wouldn’t land in a tree. Nate landed under two partially inflated and spinning Velocity main canopies that were wrapped around his left leg.

Helping other jumpers is exactly what made him such a loved and treasured part of the drop zone. From gear recommendations to freefly coaching to canopy skills to just making sure you were having a good time, Nate was the man.



Nate was always the first person to introduce himself and welcome new jumpers to ASC. Even though Nate’s primary focus was freeflying and swooping, he was eager to help AFF graduates with basic belly skills. Many jumpers at ASC gained their A, B, C and D licenses under Nate’s watchful eye and well-rounded coaching.

A non-stop great attitude was one of the greatest attributes Nate brought to the skydiving world. Nothing brought him down or affected his love for the sport, his relentless support of his home drop zone and his desire to help others become better skydivers.



At the same time, Nate was very human.

He could dish it out when someone did something foolish but he could also take a ribbing as well. From nearly burning down his new house with a grass fire he started in the backyard to leaving the battery cart plugged in as the King Air taxied away to hitting a fence as he swooped between a tree and two houses, Nate was refreshingly imperfect.

Just recently we had given Nate a bunch of flak about how it took him several hours just to sew up a set of slider tabs on his new risers. He was just excited about his new rig and wanted the tabs on his new risers to be perfect...oh, and he was having trouble operating the sewing machine. :-)



Nate would take the ribbing, learn from his mistakes and move on. Unfortunately he is unable to do the same from this incident.

But we can carry on from where Nate left off. Learn from his experiences and emulate his attitude.

Keep an eye on a fellow skydiver’s cutaway main canopy so you can help them find it once you are on the ground. Always wear a hook knife and a visual altimeter. If all hell has broken loose and you are entangled and can’t get out of it, get as much material out as possible; deploy your reserve.

Support your home drop zone and its jumpers. Help each other out without question. Genuinely welcome everyone to our skydiving family as they walk through the doors of your drop zone, be it the first-time skydiver, the young jumper or the seasoned professional.

And finally, love your family and friends; you’ll miss them when they’re gone.


Swoop Photos by Blythe Jordan