Business was normal at Skydive Hawaii yesterday, the day after one of the company's most experienced instructors and a novice student died when the tandem team came down in the ocean.

Employees said they were waiting to hear the autopsy report on Erich "Max" Mueller, 69, a veteran of more than 10,000 jumps. There was speculation that he become incapacitated after the main chute deployed.

Mueller and student Saori Takahashi, 33, of Japan, who was strapped in the tandem harness, landed in water near the shore that was 3 to 5 feet deep and become tangled in their chute lines.

Skydive Hawaii personnel, Honolulu Fire Department crews and North Shore lifeguards who tried to rescue them were stymied by rough, crashing surf. The medical examiner's office said autopsies would be done tomorrow.

Skydive Hawaii personnel did not have knives to cut the chute cords. The company said that from now on, knives would be kept in a kayak that employees can use to reach anyone in the ocean.

Frank Hinshaw, president of the company, said he watched Mueller and Takahashi suddenly begin to drift toward the ocean instead of heading into the wind over the landing field. Heading into the wind is standard procedure.

"I would think that Max may have suffered a stroke, or a heart attack, or an aneurysm of some kind, or he could have been knocked unconscious during the opening process," said Hinshaw.

Hinshaw and other witnesses said the dive appeared to be normal through the free fall, but something apparently happened to Mueller after the main chute opened properly and he and Takahashi were headed toward the grassy landing area.

"He went by and he looked like he was hanging limp," said Hinshaw. "I walked out of my office and looked up ... and there was nobody controlling the parachute."

Instructor Shaun Dunn, who was watching from about 100 yards away, said he also realized something was wrong.

"It didn't catch my attention until Max didn't make the last turn," said Dunn, who described Mueller as extremely meticulous under ordinary circumstances.

Age a factor?

Instead of turning into the wind, which is the right thing to do, Mueller drifted downwind, ultimately coming down in the worst possible place — rough, relatively shallow waters, according to Dunn.

"Max was the kind of guy who was always ahead of the game, always very safety conscious," said Dunn, who agreed with Hinshaw that Mueller must have been unconscious.

Asked if Mueller's being 69 could have been a contributing factor, Hinshaw said Mueller — a fitness buff who worked out with weights and an Everlast punching bag and had a daily running regimen — may have been in the best shape of any of his instructors.

In addition to his extraordinary physical condition, Mueller was among the world's more experienced skydivers, and had the proper certification, Hinshaw said.

"Age is one of the things you cannot discriminate against," said Hinshaw. "Was his body wearing out? So's mine. Was he too old? I don't think so."

Hinshaw said it's similarly unfair to turn away novice skydivers because of their age or physical condition. The company has successfully done tandem dives with elderly people, those with disabilities, and even paraplegics, he said.

"Certainly there are more problems with an aged passenger," he said. "But I wouldn't want to be the person who had to tell George Herbert Walker Bush to stand down." The former president made a jump at age 73.

INHERENT DANGER

However, things have not always gone smoothly with such attempts. For her 99th birthday on Feb. 17, 1996, Hildegarde Ferrera made a tandem parachute jump with a Skydive Hawaii instructor, and wrenched her neck on leaping from the plane. She was hospitalized after landing, and died of complications 15 days later.

Yesterday, as would-be tandem skydivers signed release forms — which acknowledge the inherent danger of skydiving and absolve the company of all liability — most were unaware of what had happened at Skydive Hawaii the day before.

Ligia Castellanos, 40, of Colombia, said her first-ever skydive was fun and thrilling after she had safely landed. But she seemed shocked to learn about Mueller and Takahashi, and said she would never skydive again.

"After this news, no," she said.

But Heidi Romero, 19, Castellanos' daughter, said she was ready to go aloft again.

Susan Drennan, 31, and Jeanette McGrath, 33, traveling from Ireland, hugged each other excitedly following their skydives.

When Drennan, who had skydived once before in New Zealand, later learned of the tandem deaths the day before, she said she was glad she hadn't known about it before she went up.

After she pondered the possibility for a moment, Drennan shrugged.

"I still would have jumped," she said. "We still take airplanes, even though they crash in the desert. You take your chances really, don't you?"

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.