Paratrooper is saved by reserve chute one second before impact

2022-09-11

Heart-stopping video shows US Army paratrooper freefalling through air for 15 seconds after parachute failed during jump over Italy, with reserve inflating just seconds before he landed

The incident, which took place from an Air Force C-130 transport plane flying over Italy, was luckily not deadly
The unidentified soldier’s reserve inflated seconds before he hit the ground
The clip was taken in what’s known as the Juliet Drop Zone in Italy, which is used by the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade
The video originated on TikTok, lasting 22 seconds as the paratrooper’s chute doesn’t open and he becomes desperate as he rockets toward the ground

A heart-stopping video showed a US Army paratrooper free-falling through the sky for at least 15 seconds after his parachute failed.

The incident, which took place from an Air Force C-130 transport plane flying over Italy, was luckily not fatal, as the unidentified soldier’s reserve inflated just he landed, enabling him to avoid serious injury or death with seconds to spare.

The clip was taken in what’s known as the Juliet Drop Zone in Italy, which is used by the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, according to Task & Purpose.

The video originated on TikTok, lasting just 22 seconds as the paratrooper’s main chute doesn’t open and he becomes desperate as he rockets toward the ground.

Luckily, his reserve opens up just one second before facing impact and he apparently walks away safely.

A heart-stopping video showed a US Army paratrooper free-falling through the sky for at least 15 seconds after his parachute fails

The incident, which took place from an Air Force C-130 transport plane flying over Italy, was luckily not fatal as the unidentified soldier’s reserve inflated seconds before he hit the ground

The clip was taken in what’s known as the Juliet Drop Zone in Italy, which is used by the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade

The US Army and the 173rd Airborne has not reported any recent incidents of significant injury or any incidents like this. It’s unclear who took the video, though it has gone viral on both Twitter and TikTok

The US Army and the 173rd Airborne have not reported any recent incidents of significant injury or any incidents like this. It’s unclear who took the video, though it has gone viral on both Twitter and TikTok.

Army jumpers are taught in training that they’re supposed to open reserve parachutes six seconds after they’ve realized the main chute won’t open.

St. Maj. Jeffrey Mellinger, a former freefall instructor with the Army, told Task & Purpose: ‘That reserve parachute takes about 400 feet to open, and so that’s a pretty substantial amount of time when you are coming to the ground as quick as that person was. There’s a reason they call this hazardous duty.’

The jumper also did not have enough air to open his reserve chute until the very last moment.

Army jumpers are taught in training that they’re supposed to open reserve parachutes six seconds after they’ve realized the main chute won’t open

Jumps like this are rare, according to Mellinger, because the Army takes so many precautions to avoid moments like the one in the video.

He noted that an individual malfunction is ‘not rare but it’s unusual, it’s really unusual.’

He also pointed out that thousands of people go through courses like this every year and don’t happen, except in scary, sporadic cases like the one in the video, which has nearly 90,000 likes on TikTok.

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