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A male skydiver was critically injured after a hard landing at Skydive New England in Lebanon Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Emergency responders got a call shortly after 2 p.m. that the man “had fallen at a high rate of speed from heights of more than 50 feet,” the Lebanon Fire Department said in a written statement.

Though Maine Life Flight was requested to transport him to the hospital, Boston Med Flight ended up having a closer helicopter available and handled the transportation.

A Lebanon ambulance brought the man to the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire, where he was moved to the helicopter and flown to a trauma center.

Officials have not identified the man, and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.

Another man was injured by a hard fall at the same facility last year, and management said it would conduct a “thorough follow-up” of that incident and emphasized that customer safety is a priority.

In 2018, a Skydive New England instructor fell more than a mile to his death after undoing his harness during a tandem jump. Police ruled his death a suicide.

Daniel Kool is the Portland Press Herald's utilities reporter, covering electricity, gas, broadband - anything you get a bill for. He also covers the impact of tariffs on Maine and picks up the odd business...

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