A skydiving instructor had only seconds to catch up with an unconscious student jumper and deploy his parachute for him while he was having a seizure mid- free fall.
Christopher Jones called it, “possibly the scariest moment of my life,” and now the Internet is experiencing the nail-biting 30 seconds on YouTube, recorded on a helmet-mounted camera.
Three months ago while jumping during an Accelerated Free Fall training program Jones suffered a seizure at 9000 feet before he had opened his parachute.
Thankfully, at around 4000 feet, his jumpmaster, Sheldon McFarlane, managed to catch up to him in the air and pull his ripcord. His conscious returned and he land safely back on the ground.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said the training academy’s questionnaire specifically asked whether participants had illnesses or conditions such as epilepsy.
“(Christopher’s) treating specialist wrote a letter specifically saying he was fit for skydiving,” the academy told ABC. “Obviously he wasn’t. That was the end of his skydiving career.”
(WATCH the video READ the story from the ABC)
Story tip from Kim Campbell – Photo via YouTube