Skydiving company closes for good after mum-of-four fell to her death with instructor in tandem skydive
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THE SKYDIVING company where a mum and her instructor plunged to their deaths has announced it has ceased trading - leaving punters hundreds of pounds out of pocket.
Skydive Buzz Ltd, based at Dunkeswell Airfield, near Honiton, Devon, has told customers that the firm is to be put into compulsory liquidation.
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Belinda Taylor was killed in a skydive jump
Credit: facebook/scottarmstrong
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Her instructor also died in the horror
The company arranged a tandem parachute jump which went catastrophically wrong, leading to the deaths of Belinda Taylor, 48, and her instructor Adam Harrison, 30, on Friday, June 13.
The pair died in a field after their parachutes failed to open.
A British Skydiving Board of Inquiry is investigating.
In recent weeks the company had stopped answering calls and customers said bookings had been cancelled.
Now Skydive Buzz has sent an email to those customers informing them of its decision.
The letter, sent out on Thursday, July 24, says: "It is with regret that the directors have been required to make the difficult decision to cease operations with immediate effect.
"It is proposed that the company be placed into compulsory liquidation in due course.
"The Official Receiver should be in contact with creditors and customers to provide an update regarding the closure of the company and the proposed liquidation proceedings."
One customer said she is currently £550 out of pocket after paying for three skydives.
She said: 'We have contacted the voucher company that we got them from and because it's been over two years since we bought the vouchers (because our skydives have been cancelled three times now since 2023) we won't be getting our money back apparently.
"I have always found them very helpful when the sky dives have been cancelled.
"They have always been very accommodating so it's very frustrating to find out that this is basically now just lost money."
Another customer said: "We were due to skydive Sunday, July 6 but it was cancelled due to weather.
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"They sent us a link to re-book but they had nothing else available the week we were in Devon.
"We emailed them twice whilst we were there but no reply. Also tried calling once home.
"Then I checked the website and Facebook page and noticed it was no longer there.
"Luckily we booked through Virgin who have offered vouchers or a refund so money wise we are ok."
Other customers include Marie Neal who was due to jump earlier this month having raised thousands of pounds for St Luke's Hospice in memory of her dad who was struck down with Hodgkin's Disease and died aged 57.
Prior to receiving the email from the company, she said: "I have a lot of people that have sponsored me and St Luke's are waiting for their money but Buzz Skydiving seems to have disappeared."
In the aftermath of the tragedy Skydive Buzz announced its intention to continue.
It says the closure is due to financial reasons alone.
A number of jobs will be lost but the company has not said how many.
In its email the company has offered some advice to those with vouchers.
It says: "It is advisable to contact the voucher company in the first instance (i.e. Virgin, Red Letter Days, Into the Blue, etc) to progress potential refunds.
"Customers paying by credit card may be entitled to a refund through Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, subject to certain conditions.
"Customers paying by debit card may be able to request a chargeback through their bank, subject to certain conditions.
"We would like to thank our staff, customers and all involved with Sky Dive Buzz for their support over the years and apologise again that we have been left with little other option but to close."
Inquests have been opened into the tragic deaths of Belinda, who lived in Totnes, and Adam, who lived in Bournemouth, Dorset.
Belinda was a participant in the tandem skydive, with Adam as her instructor.
The pair exited the aircraft and began the freefall, the inquest heard.
The parachute did not open as expected and they died of injuries sustained in the fall.
Belinda's partner Scott Armstrong spoke of his heartbreak after she died.
Scott had bought Belinda the skydive as a "thank you" present, he said, after she let his nine-year-old son move into their home.
Belinda had never jumped from an aircraft before, but was described as an adrenaline junkie who would try anything once.
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Advertising the 15,000ft jump, the website reads: 'Once in a lifetime experience? Ticking the bucket list? Jumping for charity? Whatever your reason, if you can afford too; jump from the ultimate altitude! No-one jumps from higher in the UK!' Ms Taylor's son, Elias, 20, told how his mother had been becoming more 'adventurous' after meeting her new boyfriend Scott Armstrong, who brought the jump for her as a present. The university student who lives in west London also revealed that she had been making jokes about making the jump on Friday the 13th, a date which often prompts superstitions. He said: 'She really just put everyone above herself. It's really difficult for (younger sister) Emily as she was the one living there with mum. 'I spoke to her a week before it happened. It's kind of weird thinking about it now, but at the time obviously she was saying how the jump would take place on Friday 13th and all those things... you don't really expect what happened to happened. 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