How to Fall 35,000 Feet—And Survive

It’s a terrifying scenario you may have dreamed about: falling to earth from a high altitude. A very few people have survived such an event. Popular Mechanics has a survival guide that will take you longer to read than the six mile fall would take.

Things are bad. But now’s the time to focus on the good news. (Yes, it goes beyond surviving the destruction of your aircraft.) Although gravity is against you, another force is working in your favor: time. Believe it or not, you’re better off up here than if you’d slipped from the balcony of your high-rise hotel room after one too many drinks last night.

Or at least you will be. Oxygen is scarce at these heights. By now, hypoxia is starting to set in. You’ll be unconscious soon, and you’ll cannonball at least a mile before waking up again. When that happens, remember what you are about to read. The ground, after all, is your next destination.

This post is not for the faint of heart. Link -via Metafilter