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Carlos Gabriel Obaid Haddad died after a skydive went wrong.
A friend of the man killed following a skydiving incident says he was happy in the moments before he lost consciousness.
Carlos Gabriel Obaid Haddad died on Sunday – days after an incident during a routine skydive for his employer, Skydive Mt Cook last Tuesday, near Aoraki Mt Cook.
Originally from Chile, the 43-year-old cameraman and Pukaki local was an experienced professional skydiver who had been jumping for many years.
On Wednesday, Skydive Mt Cook confirmed an investigation had revealed none of Haddad’s equipment had failed.
Javier Andrés Rojas Sepùlveda, who lived with Haddad, alluded to what happened in a Facebook post, saying the pair had talked about “fast landings”.
“The passion, love, respect that we have for those kinds of canopies, especially in those maximum adrenaline seconds, how dangerous it can be and how we accept it under our own law, that we can f… it up with a minimum mistake”.
Sepùlveda said he wanted his friends and family to understand that Haddad, who he affectionately called ‘Oba Pelao’, died in a “good way” and was happy.
“We kept him confident and calm in his last conscious moments, and he knew the love that each one of you has for him.”
Written before Haddad’s life support was turned off, his friend asked people to send “positive thinking messages and good vibes to make him go calmly”.
“He is not going to continue here,” he wrote.
Sepùlveda said he had met Haddad recently, but they had “instantly” become partners, accomplishing “a super strong and beautiful friendship”.
“I wish for you to remember him how he was; a happy person, loyal, adventurous. He is one of those guys that is always smiling, and it can’t help but make you smile too.”
Haddad was “very professional”, especially at skydiving, he said.
“Confident…good for advice, always making jokes and open to talk about anything in life.”
Previously Haddad studied at Universidad Mayor in Santiago between 2009-2011, where he gained a masters in business administration. After university, he worked at a construction machinery company in the same city before becoming a sports instructor in Mexico.
He moved to New Zealand this year.
Stuff understands his Chilean family were by his bedside at Christchurch hospital when life support was turned off on Sunday.
Previously, a spokesperson for Skydive Mt Cook said they were devastated by the loss of Haddad, who they described as being a “treasured colleague”.
“Our thoughts are with his family during this time”
The spokesperson said they remained confident in their “robust systems”.
“Initial investigations show equipment failure was not a factor, however, whilst this investigation is still open, we will continue to work with local authorities and will be unable to make any further comments at this time.”
Police are also making enquiries on behalf of the Coroner, and the Civil Aviation Authority has been notified.
According to the United States Parachute Association, human error including misjudging altitude, failing to deploy a parachute and improper canopy control are the leading causes of skydiving deaths after equipment failure.