Skydiver to jump into net without parachute

Why did he wear a helmet?

If he missed the target and hit the ground, he wanted to minimize head injuries.

:D

Seriously though, maybe for communications hookups of some kind? I didn't see the jump but that's all I could think of.
 
Maybe he had to wear a helmet, in order for his insurance to cover... if he missed the net.

Seriously, that was an insane feat. Wonder which nightly talk show will book him first?

Or what endorsement deals he will get?
 
I'm not exactly impressed with the dare devil nature of this. I mean sure if he screwed this up he was going to die, but there are a lot of jobs like that.

They didn't just throw this guy out of a plane and say "good luck," they "science'd the • out of this" in the everlasting words of Mark Watney.

They tested, they trained, they controlled as many variables as they could given the constraints they had. This guy was also a professional who was up to the task.

Glad he didn't pancake, but he knew that if he did his job properly he wouldn't.
 
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Why did he wear a helmet?
Same reason Kamikaze pilots wore them......

This is quote from article:
If he can pull it off, he will put his name in the history books as the only skydiver to go from plane to planet Earth without a parachute.

NOT really an accurate statement; he's going from a plane to a net ABOVE planet Earth without a parachute.
 
Same reason Kamikaze pilots wore them......

This is quote from article:
If he can pull it off, he will put his name in the history books as the only skydiver to go from plane to planet Earth without a parachute.

NOT really an accurate statement; he's going from a plane to a net ABOVE planet Earth without a parachute.

He wouldn't be the first to bail out of a plane without a parachute and survive. He would be the first to bail out of a perfectly good aircraft without a parachute and survive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Alkemade

Flight Sergeant Nicholas Stephen Alkemade (1922–1987) was a rear gunner in Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster heavy bombers during World War II, who survived—without a parachute—a fall of 18,000 feet (5,500 m) when abandoning his out-of-control, burning aircraft over Germany.


On the night of 24 March 1944, 21-year-old Alkemade was one of seven crew members in Avro Lancaster B Mk. II, DS664,[1] of No. 115 Squadron RAF. Returning from a 300 bomber raid on Berlin, east of Schmallenberg, DS664 was attacked by a Luftwaffe Ju 88 night-fighter, flown by Hauptmann Gerhard Friedrich, 1./NJG 6, caught fire and began to spiral out of control. Because his parachute was unserviceable, Alkemade jumped from the aircraft without one, preferring to die by impact rather than burn to death. He fell 18,000 feet (5,500 m) to the ground below.


His fall was broken by pine trees and a soft snow cover on the ground. He was able to move his arms and legs and suffered only a sprained leg. The Lancaster crashed in flames, killing pilot Jack Newman and three other members of the crew. They are buried in the CWGC's Hanover War Cemetery.


Alkemade was subsequently captured and interviewed by the Gestapo, who were initially suspicious of his claim to have fallen without a parachute until the wreckage of the aircraft was examined. He was a celebrated prisoner of war, before being repatriated in May 1945. (Reportedly, the Germans gave Alkemade a certificate testifying to the fact.)[2]

Other Fall survivors


    • Ivan Chisov, Soviet Airforce lieutenant who survived falling from his aircraft in 1942
    • Alan Magee, American World War II airman who survived a 22,000-foot (6,700 m) fall from his damaged B-17 in 1943
    • In April 1944 two crew members of an RAF Lancaster were blown out of their aircraft by an explosion and fell—without a parachute—no less than 1,350-metre (4,430 ft) into soft and deep snow in the Swiss Alps.[3]
    • Juliane Koepcke German teenager who survived a 3,000-metre (9,800 ft) fall after her flight broke up over the Peruvian Amazon in 1971
    • Vesna Vulović, Serbian flight attendant who survived the mid-air breakup of her aircraft in 1972
 
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Wasn't there a young boy that bailed from United 232 in Des Moines just before impact?

Heck, he should at least get a participation trophy, shouldn't he? At the very least a ribbon!!
 
Wasn't there a young boy that bailed from United 232 in Des Moines just before impact?

How? There was no damage or openings in the passenger cabin. All the damage was aft of the pressure bulkhead.

His name is Tony Freeney, and he later stated he was thrown from the plane on impact, and did not jump prior to the crash.
 
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