An investigation is underway to understand how a father of six died in a skydiving incident on the weekend, leaving behind a grieving family who fear they may lose their home.
Rodger Goltz, who is understood to have been skydiving for decades, was jumping with his 18-year-old son on the NSW South Coast on Saturday when things went horribly wrong.
The 48-year-old from Jervis Bay was flown to a hospital in Canberra where he was sadly pronounced dead on Sunday.
Kelly Goltz has told media that her husband turned too low and fast due to the wind, which put him at the wrong angle to land.
Skydive Oz Moruya Heads confirmed Goltz’s parachute had opened.
“It is still too early to understand exactly what caused the incident, but we know that while the parachute opened and functioned normally, he experienced a heavy landing and sustained multiple injuries,” chief instructor and owner Paul Smith said in a statement provided to news.com.au.
The Australian Parachute Federation (AFP), which is the national governing body for skydiving and is recognised by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, said the tragedy would be investigated, like all serious parachute incidents are.
“An APF safety and training officer arrived on site at Moruya Heads on Saturday night to begin a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident,” AFP CEO Stephen Porter said.
AFP safety and training manager Charl Rootman explained to news.com.au that the investigation is done in conjunction with police and any findings are provided to the coroner.
“An experienced investigator will review all relevant aspects of an incident, to determine possible causes and contributing factors, and thereby identify potential safety learnings,” he said.
Kelly Goltz told 7News: “My son Kai came in after him and saw the crash but didn’t realise how bad it was or that it was his dad on the ground.
“It wasn’t until he saw his shoe on the ground that he knew … it was pretty horrific for him.”
A fundraiser set up on behalf of the family on Tuesday has raised almost $20,000.
The GoFundMe organiser, Alaska Turner, said Goltz’s death had left an “irreplaceable void” in their hearts.
“This fund is being created to help Kelly, his children and the rest of his family through this tough time,” she wrote.
“Unfortunately due to the nature of the incident they are unable to collect any insurances to help save their family home.”
Goltz was not new to skydiving and had completed almost 80 jumps.
Smith, who was at the drop zone at the time of the incident, said in his statement: “At Skydive Oz, we do everything we can to make it as safe as possible for all of our members, regardless of their level of experience, and the close knit skydiving community here is devastated that this has occurred.
“We are incredibly grateful to the first responders and emergency services personnel who provided first aid care and arranged for his helicopter flight to Canberra.”
Goltz told Daily Mail Australia that their kids — between ages 14 and 25 — had “just lost their best mate.”
“Roger was just always chasing the next adventure and just loved his kids, he was one of them I suppose,” she said.
“The kids are devastated and wondering did he hurt or was he scared and what it means for the two girls and who’s going to walk them down the aisle?”
It is understood a memorial service will be held for Goltz next week.
