Tragedy struck late last week when a prominent Manhattan real estate investor and his sky diving instructor plummeted to their deaths due to a problem operating the parachute.
49-year-old David Winoker of Chappaqua, NY, was celebrating his friend's 50th birthday at "Skydive The Ranch" on Friday, June 15, in the afternoon. The local police chief believes the instructor, Alexander Chulsky, 25, of Brooklyn, may have suffered a medical episode and became incapacitated in mid-fall. He was not able to operate the tandem parachute, and the rest was history. Witnesses thought there was a parachute malfunction when they saw the device did not open.
The FAA is now conducting an investigation. Winoker's funeral was held at 11:30am at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners.
Winoker left behind a wife, Jillian Spitalnik Winoker, and three chidren, Jared, Hillary, and Allyson.
His father, Sid Winoker, founded the real estate company, Winoker Realty, about 30 years ago. David Winoker has been the company's president in recent years after taking over from his father. The firm specialized in Garment District real estate. Winoker has also worked in construction management.
