ELLINGTON — An off-duty Massachusetts police detective has died after a hard landing while parachuting at an Ellington airport.
Authorities said 62-year-old Springfield resident James Hansmann was reported seriously hurt around 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Ellington Airport. He was flown to Hartford Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Police said Hansmann’s parachute was functioning properly, and there is no criminal aspect to his death.
Hansmann was a detective lieutenant with the Leyden Police Department in Franklin County, Massachusetts.
Leyden Police Chief Daniel Galvis says the department is devastated by the loss. Galvis says Hansmann had been with the department since 2003.
