A skydiver had a remarkable escape after surviving a 10,000ft plunge to the ground when his parachute failed to open.
By Roya Nikkhah and David Barrett
Published: 9:00PM BST 15 Aug 2009
Paul Lewis, 40, jumped from a plane and plummeted through the air before crashing on to the roof of a hangar at Tilstock Airfield in Whitchurch, Shropshire.
He was rescued by firefighters and treated for head and neck injuries, before being airlifted to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, in Stoke-on-Trent.
The accident happened at around 3pm on Friday when Mr Lewis, a freelance cameraman, was filming tandem jumps for the Parachute Centre, a skydiving firm based at the airfield.
Witnesses said that his main parachute failed to open, and then his reserve parachute failed to work properly.
A spokesman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: The man is reported to have fallen approximately 1,000 feet (3,000 metres), spiralling to the ground following a 10,000-foot skydive.
Colin Fitzmorris, who owns the Parachute Centre, said that Mr Lewis was very lucky to escape without more serious injuries, and is expected to make a full recovery.
Mr Fitzmorris, who saw the accident happen, said: He had a malfunction on his main parachute, which he cut away normally, but had some kind of control problem on his reserve which continued to spiral until he hit the hangar roof.
The roof of the hangar broke his fall and flexed sufficiently to reduce the impact. He has no fractures but some neck injury, and we are sure that he will make a full recovery. He is very lucky.
Tracey Butterworth, a care worker from Leek, Staffordshire, who performed a tandem jump videoed by Mr Lewis last month, said: Hes a fantastic bloke he and the other instructor made the day for me.
He was making me laugh from start to finish, and always very professional. It sounds like hes been very, very lucky and Im glad to hear hes OK.
On his Facebook site, Mr Lewis, who is thought to live in Shropshire, lists his interests as skydiving; the pop band My Left Foot; the television sit-com Father Ted; and Peter Griffin, the character from the animated television series Family Guy.
In 2007, experienced parachutist Michael Holmes survived after his main canopy and reserve failed to open after a 12,000ft jump.
Triggered at 4,000ft above Lake Taupo, New Zealand, the malfunction was caught in a gut-wrenching video sequence by his head-mounted camera.
Mr Holmes, from Jersey, had his fall broken by a tree. He suffered only a punctured lung and a broken ankle.
The person to have fallen the greatest distance without a parachute, and survived, is Vesna Vulović, a Serbian air hostess who fell 33,000ft after her JAT airliner was blown up in January 1972.
The 22-year-old landed in snow in the former Czechoslovakia.
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Let Me Tell You Once You Have An Accident of This Caliber It Does Change your Life.
These events happen alot, I remember when I first when Skydiving it was scary and life changing all at the same time. But when you feel the air hitting your face and feel free as if you are flying it is a real adreline rush, but when your parachute does not open you panick a little but you have that reserve parachute but if you are having problems with that as well. It scares you and causes you to freakout and causes you to free and panick like there is no tomorrow, but once it opens you still do not feel safe until you hit the ground again and you feel thankful to be alive.
People who get up everyday and continue to go back and jump they are fearless, although it definitely is a lot of fun, it is scary and causes you to really think about your life a whole lot more.
This gentlemen in the above article is simply lucky to be alive and thank goodness that he is ok and will fully recover but this is not always the case. This is trully a life changing event and must be taken into consideration and he is still in high spirits.
This is one awesome guy and I look forward to hearing more news about this, I was sent this link from a friend on facebook Martyn Haskins unbelievable and must be take into consideration when you can walk away from this kind of event with minor injuries.
Wow, Here I am on early in the morning just reviewing a few things and this article is dropped on my facebook page, I simply had to read it, wow over the weekend I have watched and reviewed quite a few things.
Some of the stuff has been about a blind individual who is making tons of money online and he’s blind, now that a life inspiring event. Also a little about spirituality and also some about financial literacy and taking daily action towards your dreams.
What inspires you to take action and to wake up everyday satisfied, if you say nothing revise your plans, create a vision board and workout your dream plans, you lifestyle design.
Enjoy your weekend.
All the best,
Julio R. Mattos
