Skydiving spouses cause a stir in Hazelton
HAZELTON, Pa. – In an end to an already unorthodox
Hazelton, Pa., wedding, the bride and groom jumped from
an airplane nearly two miles above the snow-spattered
ground. Jeanie and Jamy Knittle, both 30, were married
by Mayor Lou Barletta at Hazleton Municipal Airport
before separately skydiving from 10,000 feet, where
skydiving expert Don Kellner said the temperature was
around zero, the Hazelton Standard Speaker reported Monday.
“It drops about three degrees for every 1,000 feet you’re
up in the air,” he said. “And they were free-falling at
120 mph — maybe a bit more” until the airfoil opens.
Barletta called the ceremony perhaps one of the most
unusual he has performed. “I’ve married about 200 couples
before this and this certainly wasn’t your typical
wedding,” he said. Barletta said the skydive about 45
minutes after the ceremony made the marriage unusual.
“I’m sure my wife would like to see me jump out of an
airplane — without a parachute,” he joked.