Unconscious skydiver saved by spare chute

Published: Sept. 2, 2008 at 5:14 PM
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CHEPSTOW, England, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A Chepstow, England, skydiver who was knocked unconscious by the tail of the plane he jumped from said he survived after his reserve chute was triggered.

Jamie Robertson, 57, who said he'd completed 409 parachute jumps over the span of 23 years without any mishaps, said he was knocked unconscious after a gust of wind blew him against the tail of the plane he leaped from, The Sun reported Tuesday.

Robertson's fellow jumpers said the impact triggered Robertson's reserve chute to open, allowing him to descend, unconscious but safely, to paramedics waiting on the ground.

"I am not sure if I jumped slightly too high but the wind whacked me into the tail," Robertson, who woke up on his way to the hospital, told The Sun. "Luckily, I hit it so hard that my reserve chute opened, which is very unusual."

"I can't believe how lucky I am to have got down safely -- the doctors were amazed. It's a miracle that I survived," he said.

Robertson insisted the close call hasn't put him off of one of his favorite hobbies.

"I'm definitely going to carry on jumping," he said to the newspaper.


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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