Woman survives fall from skydiving

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the survival of a woman who fell from a skydiving height of 30,000 feet after her parachute failed. Participants explore the physics behind her survival, the circumstances of the incident, and the injuries sustained.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants discuss the physics of terminal velocity and how it relates to her survival, questioning how she could survive a fall from such a height.
  • Others mention that she was pregnant at the time of the incident, which adds complexity to the discussion about her survival.
  • There are claims that she fell unconscious during the fall, with some suggesting that being unconscious may have contributed to her survival by keeping her muscles relaxed.
  • Participants note that while she survived, she sustained significant injuries, including missing teeth and multiple broken bones.
  • Some express confusion regarding the mechanics of her parachute, with claims that it was tangled but not completely non-functional.
  • There are comparisons made to other incidents, such as those involving jumps from the World Trade Center, raising questions about the differences in outcomes.
  • Several participants share personal experiences related to falls, discussing the impact and injuries they sustained, which adds anecdotal evidence to the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion contains multiple competing views regarding the factors that contributed to her survival, including the role of unconsciousness, the state of the parachute, and the nature of her injuries. There is no consensus on the exact reasons for her survival or the implications of her experience.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the physics involved, particularly regarding terminal velocity and the effects of falling while conscious versus unconscious. There are also unresolved questions about the specifics of her parachute's deployment and the conditions of her landing.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying physics, particularly in the context of dynamics and terminal velocity, as well as individuals interested in extreme sports and survival stories.

lektor
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I recently saw an article in the paper about a woman who was sky diving and was unfortunate enough to have her parachutes fail.

Information released about the situation said she fell from 30,000 FT was traving and 80km/h and landed in a concrete parking lot.

Anyone have ideas how this was possible, e.g physics behind this?
 
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I went looking for the story and found this:
http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_346193211.html

The story said she was also pregnant at the time!

Shayna Richardson's recovery is made all the more remarkable by the news she received when in the emergency room, doctors told her she was two weeks pregnant.

Now, 12 weeks into the pregnancy, mother and baby are both doing well.
 
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MSN even had the video from the person she was diving with!

What seems to have happened was her main chute got tangled up or something because it was on her the whole way down and she was in this insane spiral
 
That reminds me of a "King of the Hill" episode.. not that I watch that show.
 
How is it possible? What the hell was her terminal velocity? A parking lot?
 
I forgot why, but you have to be unconscious if you want to survive the fall. I see that she fell unconscious too.
 
Mk said:
I forgot why, but you have to be unconscious if you want to survive the fall. I see that she fell unconscious too.

unconciousness means your muscles are relaxed. if you tense up, you'll suffer more damage. that's also why a lot of drunk drivers don't get as serious injuries in an accident. their bodies can't react as fast and tense up, and so they sustain fewer injuries.
 
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wait.. huh? Your post confuses me, Gale
 
  • #10
Do you mean they don't react fast enough to tense up or they don't react fast enough and tense up?
 
  • #11
they don't react fast enough to tense. if you were entirely conscious, your natural reaction would be to tense.
 
  • #12
I saw the footage on TV, and as the commentator is saying her 'chutes didn't open, you can clearly see she did have a 'chute open. It just seemed like the cords got tangled up in a way that she descended in an uncontrolled spiral, and too fast, but it wasn't completely without a parachute. Also, survived doesn't mean uninjured. They interviewed her, and she's missing a lot of teeth. I'm sure that's just one of many injuries she sustained.
 
  • #13
Yet another example of why it utterly baffles me that anyone would climb out of a perfectly good aeroplane. :-p
 
  • #14
Moonbear said:
Also, survived doesn't mean uninjured. They interviewed her, and she's missing a lot of teeth. I'm sure that's just one of many injuries she sustained.

I remember seeing the original article saying she had about 11 surgeries and has like 17 faceplates
 
  • #15
sigh.. if we can't count on gravity nowadays.. what else is left??
 
  • #16
Who in the hell goes skydiving while they are pregnant?
 
  • #17
Moonbear said:
They interviewed her, and she's missing a lot of teeth. I'm sure that's just one of many injuries she sustained.
That interview was months after the fall. She didn't just lose a lot of teeth, she broke pretty much every bone in her face and a good handful of other bones.
mattmns said:
Who in the hell goes skydiving while they are pregnant?
She didn't know.
 
  • #18
russ_watters said:
She didn't know.
Ohh ok, that is better!
 
  • #19
russ_watters said:
That interview was months after the fall. She didn't just lose a lot of teeth, she broke pretty much every bone in her face and a good handful of other bones.
That's what I assumed. I wasn't really paying a lot of attention to the interview. I knew it was after a long recovery, and likely after a lot of reconstructive surgery.

She didn't know.
Yep, she found out at the hospital. Nobody knows when they're only 2 weeks pregnant unless they're constantly doing home pregnancy tests.
 
  • #20
There is occasionally a person who survives hitting the ground after skydiving, but that is rare. Mostly the people involved are killed.

Those who survive receive a lot of damage and require a lot of surgery.

If a person is relaxed, the part of the body which hits the ground first absorbs a lot of the energy. The remaining portions absorb less energy.

If one is rigid, a strong shock wave propagates through the body, and that can do a lot of damage.
 
  • #21
Cronxeh said:
sigh.. if we can't count on gravity nowadays.. what else is left??
I agree totally, Cronxeh. About 20 years ago, a bunch of my friends started a petition to have the law of gravity repealed. I refused to sign, on the grounds that I didn't want to be enlightened.
 
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  • #22
Astronuc said:
There is occasionally a person who survives hitting the ground after skydiving, but that is rare. Mostly the people involved are killed.
Well, I survived hitting the ground.

















But then, I didn't hit very hard - my 'chute opened. :biggrin:
 
  • #23
I've hit the ground a few times, twice in a vertical position, and once sideways, but that was only 3-4 m (10-12 ft).

In the vertical, when my feet hit the ground, it felt like a sledgehammer hit me at the base of my spine, and I felt it all the way to the top of my head. The concusion layed me out for a while.

Sideways, I got lucky and hit gradually from my right elbow and progressively down my right side. I could feel the strain on my lungs and other organs pulling way from my left side. I was able to crawl away from that one - but it was painful. It didn't help that my son, who was about 4 or 5 yrs old at the time, jumped onto my back while I was still kneeling on the ground checking for damage.

Much harder or faster, I might not be around today. I only know of few survivors from high speed impacts with the ground.
 
  • #24
She should call the kid Ariel... get it?
 
  • #25
How high exactly was this? I mean, everyone that jumped out of the world trade center died. So, (Obviously this appears higher) how the heck did she survive and no on one the WTC did when they jumped? They both landed on pavement.
 
  • #26
QuantumTheory said:
How high exactly was this? I mean, everyone that jumped out of the world trade center died. So, (Obviously this appears higher) how the heck did she survive and no on one the WTC did when they jumped? They both landed on pavement.

Watch the video, her chute deployed but it just didnt fully deploy. She hit at 50mph
 

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