The fear of every paratrooper became reality yesterday for a novice jumper from Skydive Hilversum. The man broke his right arm after opening his parachute, after which he lost control. With only one functioning arm, the man managed to get both feet on the ground. Due to a carefully executed emergency landing, the jumper escaped unscathed.
Chief instructor Erik de Kok of Skydive Hilversum explains how the accident could have happened: “The jumper learns to open his parachute with his belly down, you have to look at the ground and the parachute has to point to the sky. But he was lying right on his back when he opened it.”
When the paratrooper lay with his back down and opened his parachute, it shot up with a tremendous force. The jumper’s right arm was caught in the process, after which it broke. You can’t fully control the parachute with only one arm, so the man had to make an emergency landing.
“This is the same as an airplane whose engine breaks down and it unexpectedly has to land somewhere. But it rarely happens that a jumper has an accident during the jump”, Erik explains with relief.
Courtyard next to the library
As best as it could, the jumper steered itself into a clearing to land. That became a courtyard next to the library in Nieuw Loosdrecht. There, the man was checked by paramedics and taken to hospital. According to instructor Erik, he is doing well.