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OUCH!! Freefall from 5000 feet.

By Aleki in Everything Else on Mar 26, 2007 at 6:08 pm


Okay, I’m not one who thinks other peoples pain is “neat”, but this guy free falls from 5000 feet and, although he’s hurt, manages to survive.


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  1. Anthony
    Mar 26th, 2007 at 6:17 pm

    THAT NOT FREEFALL!

  2. Aramax
    Mar 26th, 2007 at 6:38 pm

    The guy is so lucky to be alive. First time I saw that video one month ago I was thinking that he would have felt in the water at the last second somehow.

    He's so lucky to be alive.

  3. Vexorg
    Mar 26th, 2007 at 6:48 pm

    At freefall, the water isn't going to be amy better than solid ground (in fact, the bushes he landed in probably broke his fall somewhat.)

  4. Ali
    Mar 26th, 2007 at 8:14 pm

    Seeing it that he did the bushes probably did save his life absorbing most of the impact to keep him alive.

    With water he would have hit it like hitting a wall due to the surface tension.

    Lucky guy. Not as bad as the one video I saw of that fellow who base jumped off a power dam and fell all the way...jeez it was so painful afterwards...so much blood and screaming. Luckily he survived but with alot of broken bones to prove that it wasn't a good idea.

  5. MrPumpernickel
    Mar 26th, 2007 at 8:20 pm

    Indeed not freefall, and it's obvious from the video that he's slowed down sufficiently enough for other skydivers with fully open parachutes to actually catch up to him somewhat.

    Saw a story about a guy a few years ago though who jumped and the parachute didn't open at all, nor did the reserve. He survivied by miraculously landing on a big metal grate that somewhat cushioned his fall (though he bounced a couple of times). He broke virtually every bone breakable and had massive internal damage, but survived.

  6. Altidude
    Mar 27th, 2007 at 2:15 am

    Good grief, this has sure made the rounds. The guy is certainly lucky that he landed in something soft. But the media apparently haven't given a moment's thought to the meaning of the term "freefall." Freefall is what you're doing *before* deploying the parachute. That would be about 120mph, and no berry patch would save you.

    He had a spinning malfunction with two canopies out, a serious but not-unheard-of situation. What would really be interesting to know is why his main canopy didn't release.

  7. bob
    Mar 27th, 2007 at 2:51 pm

    5000 feet? pfffft...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Alkemade

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Magee
    they even filmed it !
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lJTZUOKLfw (kinda special *ahem*)

    even girls can do it...
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovic

  8. aj
    Mar 28th, 2007 at 4:44 pm

    the best thing is that he only broke a rib and he's a hot aussie

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