SYDNEY- Three Australian skydivers killed in an accident in 2017 died instantly in a mid-air collision, a coroner has found. Toby Turner’s parachute opened early during a dive in Far North Queensland, causing him to collide with tandem pair Kerri Pike and Peter Dawson. Coroner Nerida Wilson said Mr Turner made an “error of judgement” by using a parachute container that was too large. Ms Wilson told an inquest in Cairns that skydivers should be banned from checking their own equipment. The accident happened over Mission Beach on 13 October 2017. Mr Turner, who was an experienced professional skydiver, had joined the dive at the last minute because there was an empty seat on the plane. As he was a professional, he was allowed to pack his own parachute and check his own equipment, Ms Wilson said in her findings. Australia asylum family deportation halted mid-air Australia to tackle foreign interference in unis Great Barrier Reef outlook is ‘very poor’ He jumped just before Mrs Pike, who had been given the dive as a birthday present from her husband and was strapped into a tandem harness with her instructor Mr Dawson. When Mr Turner’s parachute deployed early, it forced him into the path of Mrs Pike and Mr Dawson who were above him at the time.