Man falls 47 stories and lives

NEW YORK - Doctors say they have never seen anything like it: A window washer who fell 47 stories from the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper is now awake, talking to his family and expected to walk again. Alcides Moreno, 37, plummeted almost 500 feet in a Dec. 7 scaffolding collapse that killed his brother.

Somehow, Moreno lived, and doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center announced Thursday that his recovery has been astonishing. He is scheduled to undergo his 10th surgery Friday.

He has movement in all his limbs. He is breathing on his own. And on Christmas Day, he opened his mouth and spoke for the first time since the accident. [continued]

No, it does not. Improbable? Yes? Amazingly improbable? Sure. But a "miracle"? I don't think so. It's not even unprecedented. There are records of people surviving falls from airplanes after their parachutes failed to open.

Moreno certainly did have some devastating injuries, as the article describes:

Survival is rare for falls greater than 10 stories. In urban environments, falls of three stories or more are associated with high mortality, particularly in adults. However, the height of the fall is not the sole risk factor for mortality. Moreno himself suffered multiple fractures, internal injuries, and massive bleeding. Indeed, the fact that his main fractures were lower extremities fractures suggests that he landed feet first, which is one factor that can increase the chance of surviving a high fall. That Moreno didn't suffer a major head injury also suggests this possibility. Another factor mentioned in the article is that he may have been holding on to the scaffolding as he fell. If the scaffolding was still attached to the rest of the structure, this could well have slowed his fall or even broken it, a possibility suggested by reports that paramedics found him lying on top of the remains of the collapsed scaffolding while his brother's body was apparently found lying partially underneath the wreckage. Moreover, in the same report it was stated that Moreno might have followed training that window washers are taught to maximize the possibility of survival if their scaffolding ever gives way:

Also, let's not forget the skillful intervention of the paramedics and trauma team, as well as the excellent care that they provided.