Local News

Skydiver dies three days after accident in Mass.

The cause of Robert Szabo’s fatal accident remains under investigation.

Skydivers at Jumptown Skydiving in Orange, Massachusetts, in 2014. Jumptown operated the plane involved in the incident that fatally injured Robert Szabo Saturday. Zack Wittman for the Boston Globe, File

By Abby Patkin

updated on October 9, 2025

1 minute to read

A Connecticut man who was involved in a skydiving accident in Massachusetts Saturday has died, according to officials.

Robert Szabo, 62, died Tuesday evening, three days after the Oct. 4 incident at the Orange Municipal Airport, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office said.

Szabo had been hospitalized at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, according to the DA’s office. The cause of his accident remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police, Orange police, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine Szabo’s cause of death, the DA’s office said.

In a statement, Jumptown Skydiving reported Saturday’s incident involved a “midair collision between two experienced skydivers.”

“The injured jumper landed on airport property under a fully functioning parachute,” the company said. “They were tended to on scene by first responders and subsequently transported to the hospital for continued care.”

According to Jumptown, Szabo “passed away peacefully … surrounded by loved ones.”

“Out of respect for our friend, neither Jumptown nor its staff, members, or affiliates will provide any further statement from this point forward,” the company said. “We ask for privacy as we mourn the loss of a beloved member of our community.”