Man survives 1,000m skydive fall

[ps1074]

A South African man who survived a 1,000m skydive fall with a few bruises has vowed never to parachute again.

Benno Jacobs, 35, took his maiden parachute jump last Friday, hoping to land safely in a field near the city of Bloemfontein.

Instead, he plummeted to the ground as his parachute failed to open properly for reasons that are still unclear

<snip>

Once he hit the ground, he stood up and started walking towards the clubhouse under the gaze of stunned family and friends.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5277778.stm

[RebelOne]

1. How far is 1,000m?

[LSK]

2. 3000 feet?

[ps1074]

4. 1000 meters = 3280 feet

eom

[johnnie]

3. Ouch

That had to hurt a bit.

[ps1074]

6. best line in the article

"I thought maybe this is the speed you usually travel in a parachute," he said.

[Ravenseye]

5. well the parachute was open

just not deployed correctly, so he wasn't freefalling. His speed was increased, dangerously, but it was retarded somewhat. Plus he landed in a field, which is optimum for bouncyness (better than water which will hit you like a brick from high fall).

Lucky he doesn't have a broken bone or ten, but I'm not shocked he survived.

[jobycom]

7. The first part of the article gives a different impression than the last.

The first part sounds like a freefall, but the last two paragraphs say it wasn't.

I don't understand what a spiral is. Was he spinning head over heels, or like a corkscrew, or was he parallel to the ground and rotating? How was the chute affecting this? I'm having trouble visualizing what was going on.

[Ravenseye]

8. Here's how I read it

The 'chute didn't deploy correctly and was entangled, so it was up there and he corkscrewed down. Definately out of control, but slowed. The fact that he walked away with only bruises is pretty remarkable.

[jobycom]

9. That makes sense, especially with the explanation

that the jumper was pulling too hard on the steering cable, which makes it sound like he panicked and kept the chute from opening properly.

Never jumped. Hope to one day.

[RebelOne]

11. It had to be opened some if he was able to operate the toggles. n/t

[Pierre.Suave]

14. LOL

your entire post makes me laugh.

[Benfea]

10. It's rare, but things like that do happen.

I remember as a child reading about a similar incident involving a Russian parachutist. There, the deep snow and angle of the mountain he hit was credited with his survival.

[Ezlivin]

12. Unbelievable good fortune. I was not so fortunate

I broke my back in a bicycle accident after I was forced from the road by a car.

When I was in Tripler Army Medical Center another guy came in, a Marine. He was going to skydive but his aircraft crashed on takeoff. He had a broken neck.

And he was going to walk out of the hospital.

I keep wondering how these guys can survive plane crashes and failed parachutes and I can't even ride a damned bike. :)

(And, no, I never walked again. But it was 26 years ago and I've dealt with it.)

[RebelOne]

13. I did a little sky-diving and there were guys who would come

to the airport that had made 100s of jumps with nary a mishap and many of them would have casts on their legs or arms from motorcycle accidents. So, it's a lot safer in the air then on the road.