Veteran skydiver Douglas Ball dies a week after landing near Mackay
A veteran Queensland skydiver has died a week after a hard landing in a skydive near Mackay.
Douglas “Dougie” Ball is mourned by the skydiving community after his death over the weekend following his accident at Laguna Quays on April 16th.
Ball, 52, was seriously injured while landing a solo dive before being flown to Mackay Base Hospital.
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“Unfortunately something went wrong near the ground and he hit it very hard there,” said Inspector Andrew Godbold last week.
“We know his parachute deployed, he just hit the ground pretty hard.”
Ball was later taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, where he died.
He was a longtime member of Queensland’s skydiving community and has worked as an instructor in several locations including the Gold Coast and Whitsundays.
A friend hailed Ball as a “fucking awesome human.”
“You mean so much to all of us…You will be in our hearts forever,” the friend wrote on Facebook.
“Life already doesn’t feel the same without you.”
