Officer survives 1500m fall

Creag

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A Peruvian Air Force sergeant whose parachute malfunctioned during a training exercise survived a 1524m fall without breaking a bone.

"It's a miracle he's alive," Guillermo Pacheco, a doctor, said.

Amasifuen Gamarra, 31, underwent a battery of medical tests at a hospital in Arequipa, Pacheco said, "and there weren't any fractures".

The doctor said that when Gamarra had tried to open his parachute, the webbing wrapped around his neck and he lost consciousness.

"We don't know what cushioned his fall but he's alive," the doctor repeated.

Gamarra, who had served in the air force for eight years, was transferred to a military hospital for additional medical testing.

Source: The Times
 
Officer? The poor guy just fell 1500m, show him respect.
 
I was watching a video on 9gag.tv last night about a guy falling from a crashing plane and surviving! He fell onto a haystack.
 
Maybe he was really fat and recently lost weight and ended up gliding like one of those squirrels.
 
10 Amazing Free Fall Survivors: http://www.oddee.com/item_96967.aspx
The height usually doesn't matter since you reach terminal velocity within about 600 meters (15 seconds).

Trees are usually the best choice if your chute fails (or you don't have one).
They have enough height and low enough density to slow you down without breaking too much in the process (unless you're unlucky and hit a big branch first or miss hitting anything at all).
I personally know of two people who survived failed parachutes/parafoils by hitting trees.
 
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