💔 “I Feared I Was a Deathwish Time Bomb”: Skydiver’s Haunting 2015 Confession Resurfaces After She and 29-Year-Old Instructor Die in Tragic California Midair Collision

Eleven years ago, Georgia Jean almost gave up skydiving before her adventure had truly begun. She had failed the first level of training three times, and an instructor reportedly told her she might never be able to pursue the sport. Frightened but determined, she pushed forward, eventually completing more than 1,700 jumps and earning a place in competitive skydiving. But on November 6, 2026, the 56-year-old South Dakota woman and fellow skydiver Levi Pimentel, 29, were involved in a devastating midair collision just 150 feet above a California landing area. Both women died. Now, Georgia’s decade-old words about overcoming her fear of becoming a “deathwish time bomb” have resurfaced, bringing new attention to a life defined by determination and a tragedy investigators are still trying to explain.

LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA — November 9, 2026 — Two experienced female skydivers died after their parachutes became entangled during an organized event in Southern California, leaving the skydiving community mourning and investigators searching for answers.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Georgia Jean, 56, of Box Elder, South Dakota, and Levi Pimentel, 29, of Aurora, Illinois.

The accident occurred Friday, November 6, at Skydive Elsinore, a well-known skydiving facility in Riverside County.

Both women were licensed, experienced jumpers who had traveled to California for an organized skydiving event.

According to the facility, the initial stages of their jump proceeded normally.

Both women completed the free-fall portion of the jump and successfully opened their parachutes.

But during their final approach to the landing area, they collided approximately 150 feet above the ground.

Their parachutes became tangled.

Both sustained critical injuries when they reached the ground.

Emergency crews transported them to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The tragedy has attracted additional attention after the discovery of an old blog post in which Georgia described her early struggles with skydiving.

A Jump That Began Normally

The accident occurred shortly before noon on November 6.

Georgia and Levi were participating in an organized event at Skydive Elsinore.

According to reports, the gathering involved experienced female skydivers practicing for a potential California record.

The goal was to create the largest women’s formation in an upright flying position.

This form of skydiving requires participants to maintain controlled positions while falling through the air.

Unlike traditional belly-to-earth formations, upright skydiving involves flying in positions that can resemble sitting or standing.

The maneuver requires extensive training, spatial awareness and coordination.

Professional skydiver Chazi Rutz, who participated in the event, told the Los Angeles Times that the group completed the initial formation without apparent difficulty.

The participants had jumped from an aircraft and joined hands during the free-fall portion.

The first part of the descent appeared uneventful.

The danger emerged later, after parachutes had been deployed.

The Final 150 Feet

According to Skydive Elsinore, both women’s parachutes opened normally.

There was no reported malfunction during deployment.

But as Georgia and Levi approached the landing area, they collided.

The collision occurred at approximately 150 feet above the ground.

At that altitude, there was very little time to recover from an unexpected emergency.

Their parachutes became entangled.

The resulting descent caused severe injuries.

Emergency responders were called to the facility near Cereal Street.

The Riverside County Fire Department said both women suffered major traumatic injuries.

They were transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

Despite medical efforts, neither survived.

The sudden loss devastated the people who had traveled to California to participate in the event.

Two experienced skydivers who shared a passion for flight had lost their lives during an activity they knew well.

The Decade-Old Blog Post That Resurfaced

Following the accident, the New York Post highlighted a personal blog entry Georgia had written in 2015.

The post described her difficult introduction to skydiving.

Georgia recalled struggling with the first level of training.

She said she failed it three times.

According to her account, one instructor told her she could not skydive.

The experience shook her confidence.

She worried that she might not possess the physical or mental skills necessary to participate safely.

In the blog post, Georgia described overcoming both those concerns and her fear of being a “deathwish time bomb.”

The words have attracted attention because of the circumstances of her death eleven years later.

But the context is important.

Georgia was describing her earlier anxiety about learning a dangerous sport.

She was not predicting the November 2026 collision.

And the phrase does not establish that she wanted to die or deliberately take unreasonable risks.

Her post was ultimately about perseverance.

Despite a discouraging beginning, she continued learning.

Over the following years, she developed considerable experience.

From Three Failed Lessons to More Than 1,700 Jumps

Georgia first became involved in skydiving in 2015.

Her earliest experiences were difficult.

But rather than abandoning the sport, she sought to improve.

Over time, she became a committed participant.

According to her biography, Georgia completed more than 1,700 skydives.

That figure represented years of practice and continued involvement in the sport.

She eventually entered competitive skydiving.

In 2024, she reportedly won a bronze medal with a team called First Froth in a mixed formation skydiving event.

The achievement reflected how far she had progressed since her uncertain beginning.

The woman who had once struggled to pass an introductory training level had become an experienced skydiver with competition experience.

Her personal history illustrates the dedication required to master a technically demanding activity.

For Georgia, skydiving had become far more than a recreational adventure.

It was a major part of her life.

A Life Beyond Skydiving

Georgia’s interests extended beyond aviation sports.

She had previously worked as a stand-up comedian.

She also described herself as a spiritual practitioner and life coach.

She founded a business called Circle Evolution, offering services related to her spiritual interests.

Her professional activities reflected an unconventional and varied career.

But skydiving occupied an increasingly important place in her life.

She shared photographs and videos of her jumps on social media.

She participated in training events.

And she continued developing relationships within the skydiving community.

Her willingness to explore a sport she initially found intimidating became a recurring part of her personal story.

The 2015 blog post, when read in that context, is less a frightening warning than an account of someone confronting her limitations.

Georgia had feared that she might fail.

Instead, she spent more than a decade pursuing the activity she loved.

Levi Pimentel Was Just 29

The second woman killed in the accident was Levi Pimentel of Aurora, Illinois.

Levi was only 29 years old.

She was an experienced skydiver and professional instructor.

According to public employment records reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, she had worked at iFLY Naperville, an indoor skydiving facility in Illinois, for nearly nine years.

Her positions included flight instructor, lead instructor and lead trainer.

She had also worked with Skydive Sky Knights in East Troy, Wisconsin.

Levi’s career involved helping other people experience the sensation of flight.

Indoor skydiving facilities use powerful vertical wind tunnels to allow participants to float in controlled airflow.

Instructors guide beginners while also helping experienced flyers develop advanced techniques.

Levi had organized training camps for people interested in improving their skills.

Her work made her a familiar figure within parts of the indoor skydiving community.

For colleagues and students, her loss represents the passing of a young professional who had devoted much of her adult life to the sport.

A Young Woman Who Believed in Big Dreams

Levi’s social media biography reflected her optimistic personality.

She described herself as someone who believed in ambitious dreams and possibilities.

That attitude appeared consistent with her professional life.

She spent years teaching others how to fly.

She developed advanced skills.

And she continued participating in outdoor skydiving events.

The November gathering in California offered another opportunity to train alongside other experienced women.

According to the New York Post, Georgia and Levi were already acquainted.

In an August social media exchange, Georgia expressed interest in attending one of Levi’s indoor skydiving training camps in 2027.

That detail has become especially poignant following their deaths.

Both women had been discussing future activities within a community they shared.

Now, neither will have the opportunity to participate in that planned training.

Their connection illustrates how closely linked the professional and recreational skydiving communities can be.

They Were Preparing for a Record Attempt

The two women were part of a group pursuing a new achievement in California skydiving.

According to Chazi Rutz, the participants were training for a state record involving an upright formation performed by women.

The event brought together experienced skydivers who understood the technical demands of group flight.

Participants needed to coordinate their positions while falling through the air.

The formation itself required trust, discipline and precise movement.

Rutz described the initial free-fall portion as successful.

The collision occurred later, during the approach to landing.

That distinction is important.

The available reports do not establish that the formation maneuver directly caused the collision.

Investigators must determine exactly how the two parachutists came into contact after deployment.

The event’s organizers have said both women were experienced and licensed.

There has been no confirmed finding that either lacked the qualifications to participate.

No Evidence of Equipment Malfunction, Facility Says

Skydive Elsinore released a statement following the tragedy.

The company said the free-fall portion and parachute deployment proceeded normally.

It reported no indication that the equipment malfunctioned.

The facility also emphasized that both women had significant experience.

Those details help narrow the known circumstances.

However, the absence of an observed equipment malfunction does not establish the full cause of the accident.

Investigators will need to examine parachute components, flight paths, weather conditions and other evidence.

Wind gusts were reported in the wider region that day.

But authorities have not determined whether wind contributed to the collision.

It would be premature to attribute the accident to weather, pilot judgment or a particular maneuver without investigative findings.

The Federal Aviation Administration was notified.

Authorities said the agency would collect the parachutes and examine the circumstances.

An Industry That Depends on Training and Coordination

Skydiving involves inherent risks even for experienced participants.

Licensed skydivers train to manage equipment, maintain awareness of nearby participants and respond to unexpected situations.

Group formations add complexity because several people may be moving through the same airspace.

After parachute deployment, maintaining separation is especially important.

Participants must consider their descent paths, canopy performance and the positions of other skydivers.

At lower altitudes, there is less time to respond to an emergency.

The fatal collision at Lake Elsinore demonstrates the potential consequences of a canopy entanglement close to the ground.

But general safety principles cannot establish exactly what happened in this particular accident.

The official investigation remains necessary.

The U.S. Parachute Association reported 16 skydiving fatalities during approximately 3.47 million jumps in 2025.

Those figures provide background about the sport, not an explanation for Georgia and Levi’s deaths.

The Skydiving Community Responds

Skydive Elsinore expressed condolences to the victims’ families and friends.

The facility said it was grieving alongside everyone affected.

Its statement recognized that both women had traveled to the area to participate in an organized event.

For their fellow participants, the tragedy was deeply personal.

The group had gathered around a shared passion.

They had trained together.

And they had expected to spend the day working toward a new achievement.

Instead, the event ended in the loss of two members of their community.

The deaths also affected people far from California.

Georgia’s friends and colleagues in South Dakota were mourning her.

Levi’s professional community in Illinois was confronting the loss of an instructor who had spent years helping others develop their skills.

Their lives had taken different paths, but skydiving brought them together.

The Meaning Behind Georgia’s Old Words

The most widely discussed detail in the New York Post’s report is Georgia’s 2015 reference to a “deathwish time bomb.”

Read without context, the phrase can sound like a prediction.

But Georgia was describing the fear she experienced while learning to skydive.

She had struggled during early training.

An instructor had reportedly questioned her ability.

And she had worried about whether she could safely continue.

Her later achievements tell another part of the story.

She completed more than 1,700 jumps.

She participated in competitions.

And she remained involved in skydiving for over a decade.

The old post therefore should not be used to suggest she anticipated her death or was responsible for the collision.

It documents her personal experience of overcoming self-doubt.

Her final accident must be understood through evidence about the November 6 jump, not through a metaphor written eleven years earlier.

Two Women, One Shared Passion, and an Unfinished Future

Georgia Jean was 56.

Levi Pimentel was 29.

They came from different states and different generations.

Georgia had entered skydiving later in life and worked hard to overcome a difficult beginning.

Levi had spent much of her professional career teaching others how to fly.

Both were experienced, licensed skydivers.

And both had traveled to California to participate in an event built around their shared passion.

On November 6, their jump began normally.

The free-fall portion proceeded without reported problems.

Their parachutes opened.

But approximately 150 feet above the landing area, they collided.

Both women suffered critical injuries and later died at a hospital.

For Georgia, the tragedy has brought renewed attention to the fears she overcame when she first learned to skydive. For Levi, it has ended a promising career dedicated to helping other people experience flight.

Investigators are still working to establish why the collision occurred.

The skydiving community is mourning two lives.

And the families of both women are facing losses that no explanation can undo.

Remembering Georgia Jean and Levi Pimentel

Eleven years ago, Georgia Jean wrote about being afraid that she might not be capable of skydiving safely.

She struggled.

She doubted herself.

But she did not give up.

Over the next decade, she became an experienced jumper and competitive participant.

Levi Pimentel, meanwhile, built a career around teaching and training.

At just 29, she had already spent years helping others develop their confidence in the air.

Their paths came together at Skydive Elsinore.

The event was supposed to be another opportunity to pursue the sport they loved.

Instead, a collision during the final stages of their descent ended both their lives.

Georgia once feared that she might never become the skydiver she wanted to be. She went on to complete more than 1,700 jumps. Levi devoted much of her young life to teaching others how to fly.

Their stories deserve to be remembered for those achievements, not only for the circumstances of their deaths.

The investigation may eventually provide answers about the accident.

But their families and friends will remember much more than a tragic final jump.

They will remember two women who loved the sky.

Rest in peace, Georgia Jean, 56, and Levi Pimentel, 29.