Unconscious skydiver saved by spare chute

Published: Sept. 2, 2008 at 5:14 PM

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.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Drug companies to fight neglected diseases (9 min)
Unhappy at school ups teen pregnancy risk (11 min)
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers 121, Phoenix 102 (18 min)
NHL: Dallas 3, San Jose 2 (SO) (25 min)
Anti-psychotics overused for dementia (33 min)
Scandal-ridden Spitzer gives ethics talk (52 min)
No short-term yuan appreciation seen
fark
Whoever left a sawn-off alligator head in a rural field in Yorkshire, England, congratulations,...
Fired is what you get for thinking with the little Florida, and not listening to the big Florida....
Drew's list of 'seasonal' stories is woefully incomplete without "annual turkey baster search"
Experts wonder if the upswing in retail theft may be connected to the unemployment rate. What the...
MPAA shuts down an entire town's wi-fi because one person illegally downloaded a movie. Take that,...
Verizon has found a way to charge you for accidental keystrokes