And parachuting is just what the survivors of that tragic accident did Friday afternoon. Together with other skydivers, they put on a show for themselves and for the nearly 300 friends and family of the victims gathered at Issaquah Airport to pay tribute to the dead.
"Today is going to be a different day for all of us," said Jamey Woodward, owner-operator of the Issaquah Parachute Center, who delivered a eulogy before the show. "Over the past week, we lost some very important people. Never in my life would I have ever believed so many friends of mine would be killed all at one time."
He added: "I cannot tell you how it could have happened. Information of that nature is not given to mortal men."
But Woodward quickly changed his tenor, emphasizing the positive nature of the sport and of the men and women who died last Sunday.
"This is to show that sport parachutists are people who love life. They are not thrill-seekers, per se," he said to the people gathered around him on the grassy airfield.
The first time you step out the door of the airplane, something happens to you, and you are never the same person again."
He added that skydivers "know life by dealing with it on a one-to-one basis."
Skydivers, Woodward and others noted Friday afternoon, are not prone to mourning. After a week of such behavior they said, it was time to try and return to their usual, upbeat lives.
"We have been intense all week long. As close as skydivers are, we have all lost more than just friends," said Rick Mangan, who performed in the show.
But, he said in an interview, "It's just not natural for us to walk around with tears in our eyes."
Before the show began, Woodward recalled the 11 dead:
Bob Lockwood, whom he called a quiet man; Jamilee Kempton, "a great-looking girl;" Robert Bandes, who died "trying to get better" at skydiving; Terry Cafferty, about whom Woodward said, "I never in my life met a more obnoxious, loveable guy;" Mark Leverenz, who always said "thank you" to his pilot before jumping; Jim Schill, "a tall, slender, quiet man;" Marilyn Bushong, who was "nice, cute and all that and had a square smile;" Dean Bushong, Woodward's skydiving mentor; and pilots John Erick and Mike Peterson, "our comrades."
Another man spoke of skydiver Ken Newman, also killed in the crash, who the friend described as a quiet, mellow man with a big smile and equally big moustache. He liked "fast women, skydiving and cars," the friend said.
After the personality profiles, the first plane, a 1931 Curtis-Wright air sedan, let out seven jumpers at the 7,000-foot level.
The crowd's eyes, many of them teary, were cast heavenward.
The jumpers, including Mangan and survivor Tim Davis, then formed a "canopy stack" in a tribute to Schill, who last year was on the U.S. Champion canopy stack team.
The parachutists, using canopy-shaped ram-air chutes, maneuvered toward each other until each stood on the shoulders of the chutist below.
After a few minutes, Davis set off a smoke canister, sending gray smoke trailing from the bottom of the stack. After a few more minutes, the divers drifted from each other and fell to the ground.
A loud round of applause rang out.
"Today is a celebration day," Woodward told the crowd.
Next, a Cessna 170 let out four jumpers at the 9,000-foot level. The jumpers included crash survivors Jim Langlow and Coral DeWilliam, who formerly did such four-way formations with the Bushongs.
As the four dived to the ground divers Deb Ambrose and Mark King completed a stack, a symbolic tribute to the Bushongs.
More applause followed them to the ground.
"Skydivers are a group unto themselves. One of the things they like to do is get a lot of people together to jump," Woodward said, adding that that was why so many skydivers were out together last weekend.
At the time of the fatal crash, the group of 24 divers were attempting to fall, hands joined, in a snowflake formation.
"We don't have the ability to give you 24 (skydivers), but we can give you nine," Woodward said as a Cessna 180 and Cessna 185 soared to 9,000 feet.
Five divers, including survivor Doug Scofield, jumped from one plane. Four divers, including survivors Ron Murrock, Mike Metcalf and Carlene Hood, jumped from the other
As the first of the nine Murrock fell to the ground, he let out a big yelp. The crowd let out its yelps, as well as its loudest cheers for the day, as the nine touched down.
Then, in tribute to the two dead pilots, the Cessnas buzzed the crowd, soaring higher as they went away. Before the crowd's attention moved back to those on the ground, one of the Cessnas made two rolls, provoking cheers, applause and hoots.
The divers, each wearing a red carnation, gathered up their chutes and the crowd moved slowly back to the parachute center, which had been adorned with nearly 30 flower bouquets, including one large arrangement in the shape of a chute.
The crowd was less tense than before the show. Fewer tears and more smiles were displayed.
