Ten seconds of terror
Entangled skydivers narrowly avert tragedy
June 5, 1996
Web posted at: 10:50 p.m. EDT (0250 GMT)TOOGOOLAWAH, Australia (CNN) -- What began as a routine jump for some veteran skydivers in northern Australia became a harrowing experience after they plunged out of control toward earth ... only to make a spectacular recovery and land safely, bruised but alive.
Eight members of the New Zealand national team had practiced the stunt dozens of times without incident. The team had been attempting to perform a maneuver called a "stack," wherein eight jumpers were supposed to join up in a vertical line.
The moment caught on tape
(1.9M QuickTime movie)
But at 3,000 meters above Toogoolawah on the dusty Queensland Plain, it all went wrong -- and it was all captured on videotape
Drifting together, two divers became entangled, causing them to spiral crazily, dropping 400 meters (about 1,200 feet) in 10 seconds. For a few heart-stopping moments, all that held them together was a shoe ensnared in the rigging. But divers Graeme Bull and Jeff Kay managed to cut free from each other.
Kay, who was propelled into a free fall, pulled the cord for his reserve chute and safely made it to earth -- unhurt.
Bull dislocated his knee, but was grateful for his escape. "(The pain) made me scream ... lucky enough I lost my shoe, because it was it was like a slip knot ... just tighter and tighter," he said. "Once my shoe came off, we separated."
Kay admits he was "a little" worried for a while. "It certainly was an adrenaline rush ... I don't mind admitting afterwards, yeah, it was a little scary," he said with a grin.
CNN Correspondent Judy Fortin contributed to this report
Related sites:
FeedbackSend us your comments.Selected responses are posted daily. |
|
![[Imagemap]](/WORLD/images/9601/navbar2.gif){kind=small}
Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
