Parachutes are great - they are the reason that skydivers don't go splat, and they can
be a life saver in the rare occasion of a plane disaster.
Like most things in life though, sometime things go wrong and peoples parachutes arent
there to save them but amazingly they still survive.
My name is Danny Burke and this is the Top 10 People Who Survived Parachute Fails.
Starting off at number 10 we have Juliane Diller.
This is one of the most crazy things Ive ever heard in my life.
Juliane is a German biologist - when she was a teenager, she was on board LANSA Flight
508 in Peru.
The plane was struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm and broke up in mid air
before disintegrating at 10,000 ft.
Everyone on board eventually died - except Juliane.
She remained strapped in her seat and fell all the way down into the Amazon jungle below.
Amazingly, she survived - probably because her seat and the trees cushioned the blow.
She tried looking for her mother but failed.
Juliane then spent 10 days travelling down a river in the Amazon until she was eventually
rescued by some logger.
Her story has been the focus of many documentaries.
Juliane has said the question of why she was the only survivor will always haunt her …
Next up at number 9 we have Michael Holmes.
In 2006, this skydiver from New Zealand was very experienced, having 7,000 jumps under
his belt.
Then, one day in December, something went wrong.
He jumped out with his fellow divers at 15,000 ft.
He took pictures all the way down to 2,000 ft but when he tried to open his parachute,
he just started spinning.
He tried to open his reserve parachute but the spinning continued - he was experienced
and knew at this point that he was probably going to die.
He made peace with the world and everything went dark.
Michael woke up in a blackberry push, no more than a meter high.
He had shattered his foot, leg, left hip and shoulder.
Its thought that the bush, the angle that he landed at and that his body was relaxed
were all factors in his unlikely survival.
Next up a number 8 we have Vesna Vulovic.
She was a Serbian flight attendant who holds the guiness world record for surviving the
highest fall without a parachute.
On the 26th of January 1972, the plane she was on exploded due to a briefcase bomb - authorities
never pinned down who was the blame.
Vesna fell without a parachute for a mind blowing 33,330 ft - thats over 4000ft higher
than Mount Everest.
Amazingly, the piece of the aircraft she was in hit a heavily wooded and snow covered area
which cushioned the impact.
Its also thought her low blood pressure kept her heart from bursting on impact.
Vesna died in 2016 and those close to her said she always suffered from survivors guilt.
Next up at number 7 we have Nicholas Alkemade.
He was British aircraft gunner during WW2.
On March 24th 1944, his Lancaster bomber was shot down on its way back from a bombing raid.
As the plane caught fire and spiraled out of control - Nicholas realised his his parachute
was on fire.
His only option was to jump without it - at 18,000 ft.
His fall was broken by pine trees and soft snow and he survived with only a sprained
leg.
The rest of his crew crashed and died.
When he was captured by the Nazis, they didnt believe the story he told them - but also,
why would you make that up?
They eventually believed him though and Nicholas was held as a prisoner of war until the end
of the ar.
Moving on to number 6 we have James Boole.
Hes a British athlete skydiver who has completed over 2,500 jumps - sometimes doing 5 a week.
In 2009 he was filming a TV documentary in Russia.
He he had to skydive next to a volcano to film the shot they wanted.
During the dive, James was so focused on filming the shot that he realised he had gone past
the point to release his parachute safely.
He knew this because he could make out the texture of the snow below him - it was way
too late.
He pulled his parachute anyway when he was just 20 meters above the ground.
It swung his legs up in the air but his back slammed into the ground.
He broke his bag and was bleeding internally when the rescue crew found him.
Luckily, the break was stable and he suffered no neural damage which meant that he was able
to walk again within a week.
The accident did not stop him from jumping again!
Moving on to number 5 we have Ivan Chisov.
This Russian pilot was forced to bail out of his plane during an air battle.
At 23,000 ft, he jumped out with his parachute but did not deploy it.
He was worried that the big parachute would make him an easy target for a German pilot.
He wanted to get below the battle and then open it - however, due to the thin atmosphere,
he lost consciousness and couldnt pull the cord.
He slammed into the snow at about 130 mph and the rolled down a hill.
The Russian army were amazed to find him seriously hurt, but still alive.
He remained in critical condition but was flying again just 3 months later!
Next up at number 4 we have Joe Herman.
This was a Australian Air Force pilot whos bomber was shot down in 1944 over West Germany.
Herman ordered his crew to bail out but before he could grab his parachute - the plane exploded
and he was thrown into the air.
As he fell, certain of his death, he collided with another member of the crew.
He grabbed onto his left leg of the man as he opened his parachute.
Luckily, the parachute opened slowly which helped Joe keep his grip on the leg.
The two men landed safely with only some minor injuries between them.
I think that must have a been a real bonding session for them …
Next up at number 3 we have Dave Hodgman.
This is an interesting one because there are real pictures of the event.
In March 1985, in Australia, Dave Hodgman jumped out of a plane at 12,000 ft as part
of a stunt group attempting a formation.
On his way down, he opened his parachute at around 2,500 ft and did not realise he was
below another jumper who also didnt know he was there.
They collided in mid air and their parachutes became tangled.
People watched below in horror as they spun around, Daves parachute was collapsed and
they were both relying on the other parachute for their survival.
They hit the ground hard but both escaped with minor injuries …
Next up at number 2 we have Alan Magee.
This is American man was another WW2 pilot.
His plane was shot down by the Nazis over France in 1942.
His parachute was damaged in the attack and so he jumped from the plane without one at
an astonishing 22,000 ft.
He quickly lost consciousness due to the altitude.
Then, he crashed through the glass roof of the train staion in the French town of St
Nazaire.
Amazingly, the glass absorbed a lot of the force of impact and Alan survived.
He was taken as a prisoner of war and treated for his many injuries but made it back to
America when the town was liberated in 1945 …
And finally at number 1 we have Shayna Richardson.
This one has an INSANE twist at the end.
In 2005, this woman from Mousiri was on her 10th dive with a brand new parachute when
something went wrong.
At about 3,000 ft in the air, her parachute failed to deploy properly.
She accepted that she was going to die and slammed into the ground at 50 mph.
Amazingly, she survived.
Her instructor rushed her to the hospital where she needed 4 operations.
During her time there, scans revealed something else - Shayna had been pregnant - for 2 weeks
before the dive.
The baby went on to have a healthy birth.
That kid is probably a teenager by now, I wonder how often they tell that story …
Well some people say flying is unnatural, that we shouldnt be thousands of feet up in
the air - I think its fine as long as youre in a good plane or you have a good parachute.
What do you guys think of these stories?
Thanks as always for watching, my name is Danny Burke and Ill see you all in the next
video …