(Aug. 16) - A British skydiver survived a 2,000-foot drop onto the roof of an aircraft hanger after his parachutes malfunctioned.
The incident happened on Friday over the skies of Shropshire, England, when experienced skydiver and cameraman Paul Lewis was up in the air filming a woman making her first jump, according to a Times Online report.
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At about 3,000 feet, Lewis tried to open his main parachute, but it failed. He then managed to release his reserve, but it only partially opened, causing him to spiral down rapidly.
Lewis ended up plunging a few thousand feet onto the steel roof of an aircraft hanger. The only reason he didn't proceed to roll off onto the ground was because his parachute got snagged on something.
"He is incredibly lucky, he's almost without an injury. If he'd fallen 10 (feet) either way he would have landed on concrete," Colin Fitzmaurice, owner of the Parachute Centre, where Lewis took off from, told the Times.
Get the full story at the Times Online and check out our gallery, below, of other people who have cheated death.
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Survival Stories
Jamie Neale, a British teenager who was rescued in Australia after being missing for 12 days, said he was a "total idiot" to go hiking in the Blue Mountains unprepared. Neale, 19, told Australian TV he left for the hike on July 3 with only two bread rolls and a small bottle of water.
Mark Kolbe, Getty Images
Mark Kolbe, Getty Images
