Miracle parachute leap

There was a close-up story released recently in the media about a Kiwi skydiver Michael Holmes who was skydiving in Taupo when his parachute failed to open, but miraculously survived the fall from 3600m - a true million-to-one chance.

His main parachute failed to open and as he attempted to release his reserve parachute, to his horror he realised that this as well had become entangled above him. There wasn’t much he could do. What was seemingly a secure death, he came out a live. Although bleeding, broken and unconscious, he only had a punctured lung and a broken ankle. All of it thanks to a blackberry bush he landed on that broke his fall.

I didn't have time to think about anything. Friends ask if I was scared but really I was just angry that I'd done everything exactly as I should and it hadn't worked. I was very focused on what I was doing and I remember everything. Nothing's a blur.

The whole thing was filmed. Five-and-a-half seconds from the ground -- the film shows Mr Holmes waving goodbye.

I tried to think of something, the right thing to say for the camera. But I looked at the ground again and without thinking I just blurted out "Oh shit, I'm dead... Bye!

This event has not stopped him from continuing.

I'm prepared to stake my life on the likelihood that it will never happen again. I'll continue making my living teaching skydiving and I'll still spend part of the year going round the world to different competitions.

One of my goals here in New Zealand is to go skydiving as well. This is the most amazing and gut-wrenching skydiving story I’ve heard, but I think I won’t let that stop me from doing this. Who knows, maybe I’ll do it in Taupo – it offers some of the best scenery for this. It would be the biggest self-accomplishment for me if I do it as I’m scared as hell of free falling. And now, I’m sure I’d be thinking about this story while I would be jumping out of the plane…