A Martinez man described as an experienced skydiver fell 13,000 feet to his death in Byron over the weekend when he failed to deploy his parachutes, authorities said Tuesday.

Robert Whitsitt, 54, jumped out of a Beechcraft King Air 90 at about 3 p.m. Sunday after the plane had taken off from Byron Airport, said Gareth Holder, a skydiving instructor with Bay Area Skydiving.