Makenzie’s father, Joe Wethington, made the 200-mile drive to Oklahoma with her and was the first to jump from the plane that morning. The sky divers were making a static-line jump, where a lanyard attached to the plane is connected to the parachute, causing the chute to open automatically.

Wethington said that when his daughter jumped, her parachute opened only partially and she began to spin toward the ground.

Swainson, the chief instructor at Pegasus for more than three decades, disputed that, saying her parachute opened completely and that it had a slight turn something he said she could have easily corrected using techniques from his five-hour class before the jump.

Swainson said he was unable to jump out of the plane to help, another sky diver got cold feet and protocol was for him to remain on the plane,€” but said the teen was receiving instructions during the jump through a radio in her helmet.

“There are other things you can do to stop the turn, but she didn’t do anything,” he said. “I think she just panicked.”

The Federal Aviation Administration released a report in June 2014 saying that Makenzie’s parachute was in good working condition at the time of the jump. It found no evidence of safety violations at Pegasus Air Sports Center.

Ultimately, U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti ruled against Swainson, 70, who has since moved to the United Kingdom.

Joe Wethington, who had consented for his daughter to make the jump, later said it shouldn’t have been allowed.

“I don’t think she should have been allowed at 16 to go up there and perform that type of jump; no matter what I say or she says, she shouldn’t have been allowed,” he said. “I find it very hard to believe that the rules and regulations in Oklahoma are that lax.”