How old was Heather Glasgow? Tributes pour in as Oklahoma-native dies in unexpected skydiving accident

Mother-of-two Heather Glasgow lost her life in an ill-fated incident while solo skydiving in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, on February 18 2023.

Her parachute spun around in circles before crashing to the ground, rendering the 44-year-old with injuries. She was quickly taken to the hospital and admitted at around 3:30pm, but much to her friends and family's dismay, was declared dead at 8pm on the same day.

The Sallisaw Police Department and Federal Aviation Administration are conducting an investigation into the matter and are hoping to pinpoint the cause of death.

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Family left in 'unbelievable shock' after Heather Glasgow's death

Heather Glasgow was loved by many. The 44-year-old was an adventurist. Before taking the solo skydiving jump, she had previously conducted a tandem skydive and taken two first-time skydiving classes at Adventure Skydive Center, Oklahoma.

Her parachute was fully deployed in the air, but wouldn't seem to stop spinning. Her body must have given up after numerous circles as witnesses claimed that she was lying motionless in the air.

As soon as emergency services got a call reporting a solo skydiver spinning in the air, they responded. Around 3:30pm, Heather Glasgow was taken to the Northeastern Health System Sequoyah, Oklahoma.

Declared dead at 8pm, her family was devastated. They took to Facebook to convey their grief.

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Roland Preston witnessed the incident said there was nothing he could do 'except call 911'

In an interview with 5NEWS, Roland Preston said that he witnessed the entire incident from the ground up.

He was on his way to dinner while driving on U.S. Highway 59 in Sallisaw when the parachute caught his eye. He saw Heather Glasgow's body lying horizontally in the air.

Roland said:

"The body, that was on that parachute, was just spinning in circles."

He commented on the stillness of the posture:

"I mean it was completely sideways. I feel like they were already unconscious in the air. Because if they would have been responsive in the air, they would've been kicking their legs. They would have been trying to fight with their arms to control the parachute."

He said that he watched helplessly as the body floated to the ground, despite his instincts to do something.

"It bothered us so badly. I wanted to be able to do something for the individual. But there was nothing I could do at all except call 911."

As the body floated to the ground, he remembers thinking to himself:

"There's no way that the individual could have even lived through that. Just hearing the thud, the distinct sound... the way it sounded when the person hit. It was traumatizing.

When asked if he thought it was a nonchalance on the skydiving center's part, he said:

"They've always been really, really big on safety— safety oriented. Everybody that I've come in contact with that I know that has skydived, had said that their facility is one of the best around."

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Sallisaw Police Department along with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office are looking into the investigation into Heather Glasgow's death