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Watch: Dramatic mid-air rescue as skydiver suffers seizure

A skydiver had to be dramatically rescued during a freefall plunge after suffering a seizure mome...
Newstalk
Newstalk

10.28 2 Mar 2015


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Watch: Dramatic mid-air rescue...

Watch: Dramatic mid-air rescue as skydiver suffers seizure

Newstalk
Newstalk

10.28 2 Mar 2015


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A skydiver had to be dramatically rescued during a freefall plunge after suffering a seizure moments after jumping out of a plane at 12,000ft.

The man, known only as Christopher, posted a video on YouTube calling it "possibly the scariest moment of my life".

He said he suffered the seizure at around 9,000ft while attempting a left-hand turn during a training course, before spending the next 30 seconds unconscious in free fall.

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His instructor - whose helmet camera recorded everything - realised something was wrong and managed to reach Christopher before releasing his parachute for him when he was around 4,000ft from the ground.

The Australian regained consciousness at 3,000ft and was able to land safely on the ground unhurt.

It is understood he was doing stage five of his Accelerated Free Fall programme - which allows novice skydivers to become qualified in a matter of days.

Most skydivers jump with rigs fitted with a reserve canopy that is designed to automatically deploy if the main parachute is not open when the skydiver falls below 750ft.

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