HONOLULU — Jordan Tehero was a Kauai-raised man in love with skydiving and videography.
He was a drummer, an alumni of Kauai High and was one of the victims of the Oahu skydiving plane crash that killed 11 people on Friday.
According to the Associated Press, the 23-year old picked up skydiving as a distraction from a breakup. His father, Garret Tehero of Kauai, told AP the story of how his son came to enjoy the sport.
“Sometimes people find a passion when they go through something, you know, that makes you want to take the mind off,” Tehero said. “He went and fell in love with it.”
Tehero said he spoke with his son the morning of the crash. The two had flown to Honolulu together, the father for business and Jordan for skydiving. Jordan also worked as a security guard, and his employer wanted him to do some work in Honolulu on Sunday as well, so he decided to stay while his father went back to Kauai.
Jordan’s parents both expressed worries over his new hobby.
“Because of our fear, we wanted him to stop,” the father said. “But he didn’t have the fear that we had, so he just continued.”
Any fears he may have had were taken care of with prayer. “He always told me, ‘Dad, I pray before every flight, before every jump I pray,’ ” the father said.
The family didn’t respond to requests for an interview from The Garden Island Newspaper on Monday, but Facebook posts on Tehero’s page are asking for photos of Jordan to use in his celebration of life. People are already posting group shots and photos of gathered family and friends, with poignant well-wishes and expressions of sympathy.
“Jordan Tehero was a wonderful, vibrant, talented, awesome young man who was a shining bright light of the future,” one friend posted on social media. “I am deeply upset for his family and pray You see them through this.”
The June 21 crash was the most deadly civil aviation accident in the United States since a 2011 Reno Air Show wreck killed a pilot and 10 spectators in Nevada. The plane was carrying skydivers from the Oahu Parachute Co., a North Shore business about an hour’s drive north of Honolulu and crashed Friday evening just inside the perimeter fence of an airfield on the north shore of Oahu island. Federal officials have said the plane crashed shortly after takeoff.
Autopsies have been completed, and all victims died of multiple blunt-force injuries from the crash, said Andrew Pereira, a spokesman for Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board on Monday called on the Federal Aviation Administration to tighten its regulations governing parachute operations due to the crash.
The NTSB recommended to the FAA more than a decade ago that it strengthen its rules on pilot training, aircraft maintenance and inspection, and FAA oversight, board member Jennifer Homendy told a news conference in Honolulu.
She said the FAA hasn’t acted on those recommendations.
“Are we trying to put the FAA on notice for this? Yes,” Homendy said. “We identified several safety concerns in 2008 with respect to parachute jump operations. Accidents continue to happen. There have been fatalities since that time.”
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said he was reviewing the NTSB’s 2008 recommendations and FAA responses and could not immediately provide a comment.
Homendy said FAA regulations for skydiving flights aren’t as stringent as those for air tours or commercial flights. For example, she said parachute operators aren’t required to act on manufacturer service bulletins, which are similar to manufacturer recalls.
Homendy said there have been 80 accidents and 19 deaths involving skydiving flights since 2008.
