Collision, maybe?
That is interesting. They said one thing that was unusual, is that the bodies were far apart.
Which might mean they collided and swung a part.
They had a “spotter” who listened for when their shuts opened. Instead they thought they heard two impact noises.
They were trying to shoot a “notch” in a slanted ridge line. I’ve seen a similar feat on TV. The thing is that you are totally committed to making it once you attempt the approach. You would have to deploy the parachute very early on to bail out, so in effect, there is no bail-out.
I looked at Taft Point in Google Earth, and there is an open line of descent to the valley floor, but there are flanking ridge lines, and I think they must have been trying to traverse one of these instead of following the open path of descent.
From what I saw in the successful version of this feat, the stunt can only be done with confidence if you can maintain a flight line comfortably above the target passage of the “notch”. In that case you can angle to pass through it in thrilling fashion by edging lower as you approach. Of course, if you get too low, you are toast. You do not have any afterburners.