Chuteless Jumps

December 29, 2004 11:22 AM

Chuteless Jumps: Russian I.M. Chisov survived a 21,980 plunge out of a plane with no parachute. He landed on the steep side of a snow-covered mountain with only a fractured pelvis and slight concussion.
posted by thisisdrew (40 comments total)

You mean a 21,980...foot...plunge?
posted by NickDouglas at 11:29 AM on December 29, 2004

I.M. Chisov subsequently changed his name to I.M. Lucki.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:29 AM on December 29, 2004 [1 favorite]

Please remove this story, we have told our Canadian f-18 pilots that nobody wears chutes anymore. Do you know what they cost together with that silly ejection seat?
posted by Ranger03 at 11:34 AM on December 29, 2004

Guiness World Records' website has more information on Vesna Vulovic, credited as having the world's highest fall without a parachute.
posted by GirlFriday at 11:37 AM on December 29, 2004

You mean a 21,980...foot...plunge
The feet wasn't in the plunge; it was in the landing.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:41 AM on December 29, 2004

This is going to be the next popular 'extreme' sport.
posted by stavrogin at 11:42 AM on December 29, 2004

These are some of the few that could have a drink with Kittinger and not feel the lesser at the table.
posted by sled at 11:43 AM on December 29, 2004

Let's say your jet blows apart at 35,000 feet. You exit the aircraft, and you begin to descend independently. Now what? ...Look carefully. Perhaps a shipment of folded parachutes was in the cargo hold, and the blast opened the box and scattered them. One of these just might be within reach. Grab it, put it on, and hit the silk. You're sitting pretty...When parachutists focus on a landing zone, sometimes they become so fascinated with it that they forget to pull the ripcord. Since you probably have no ripcord, "target fixation" poses no danger. Count your blessings.
posted by Kwantsar at 11:46 AM on December 29, 2004

Pandemonium: As said by Rincewind in a Discworld book: "I'm not afraid of heights; I'm afraid of grounds. It's the grounds that kill you."
posted by NickDouglas at 11:49 AM on December 29, 2004

Oh, that Kittinger...
posted by wsg at 11:51 AM on December 29, 2004

This is going to be the next popular 'extreme' sport.
posted by Tubes at 12:01 PM on December 29, 2004

Let's say your jet blows apart at 35,000 feet. You exit the aircraft, and you begin to descend independently. Now what? ...Look carefully. Perhaps a shipment of folded parachutes was in the cargo hold, and the blast opened the box and scattered them. One of these just might be within reach. Grab it, put it on, and hit the silk.

Alternatively, you could try the James Bond method, which is sky-surfing (use your arms!) to someone with a parachute (the pilot?), knock that person out, strip that person of his parachute, put it it on and whee! ... you're home free.
Now if I could only remember the movie with that scene...
posted by sour cream at 12:05 PM on December 29, 2004

Moonraker!
posted by bDiddy at 12:10 PM on December 29, 2004

Molecules are my friends.
Molecules are my friends.
Molecules are my friends.
Molecules are m
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 12:22 PM on December 29, 2004

Must have had a hell of a 'rug' burn. (snow burn, ice burn? /whatever)
posted by codeofconduct at 12:23 PM on December 29, 2004

You gotta be tough as nails to survive something like that.

I'm glad that those humans are out there.
posted by Balisong at 12:58 PM on December 29, 2004

re: Moonraker -- Jaws survived the fall, despite ripping his ripcord out of the chute.
posted by o2b at 1:28 PM on December 29, 2004

If Moonraker wasn't enough no-chute-jumping action for you, see Point Break. (I'll refrain from detailed spoilers.)
posted by Tubes at 1:39 PM on December 29, 2004

Granted, all skydives did involve chutes, but it is a travesty, a TRAVESTY, to mention skydiving of any sort and not mention Cutaway.

It has Dennis Rodman. 'Nuff said.
posted by graventy at 2:22 PM on December 29, 2004

odinsdream: You were right, Tubes did.
posted by jaden at 2:28 PM on December 29, 2004

I remember about 15 years ago I saw live TV footage of a skydiver falling to the ground when her chute failed to open. She landed in a bog of sphagnum moss and bounced twice (the first time to a height of at least 10 metres) and suffered lots of broken bones and internal injuries, but was expected to recover fully.

Sphagnum moss bogs are really cool to walk on, it feels like being on a trampoline. Remind me to bail out over one next time my parachute is faulty.
posted by randomstriker at 2:57 PM on December 29, 2004

I saw that story too, odinsdream. This story linked to in the comments section was interesting.

I hope I never have to rely on glass to break a fall.
posted by toby\flat2 at 3:02 PM on December 29, 2004

it is a travesty, a TRAVESTY, to mention skydiving of any sort and not mention Cutaway.

It is a travesty to mention Cutaway without mentioning "travesty."

(So I guess you're covered.)
posted by Tubes at 3:23 PM on December 29, 2004

I hope I never have to rely on glass to break a fall
Me too--real pane in the ass.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 3:26 PM on December 29, 2004

Wow. Minor quibble: I don't think there is such a name as "Chisov," and neither does the Russian Air Force, which suggests that the correct name might be Chizhov: "? ?????? 1942 ?. ????????? ?.?.????? (Chisov - ????? ?) ????????? ?? ?????? ????????????? ??-4." (It seems odd that they don't have their own records of his feat.)

On the insane-jump front: Russian test pilot says a man can jump from space without parachute.
posted by languagehat at 3:37 PM on December 29, 2004

Shit. Let's try that Russian quote again: "? ?????? 1942 ?. ????????? ?.?.????? (Chisov - ????? ?) ????????? ?? ?????? ????????????? ??-4."
posted by languagehat at 3:39 PM on December 29, 2004

????????? ?? ?????? ??
posted by quonsar at 4:21 PM on December 29, 2004

No, no! Do not play with Russian interrogation.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:50 PM on December 29, 2004

"Siberian Policeman Shoots Suspect 6 Times During Interrogation"

I'm ashamed to say that headline made me laugh. I just wish it had been an Onion story.

I still don't know why my Russian didn't come through; I repasted before hitting Post. Anyway, they quote the Guinness story and add "(Chisov - Chizhov ?)."
posted by languagehat at 5:31 PM on December 29, 2004

You missed out feet - I didn't see the "a" so the result was I thought the guy had done the same jump 21,980 times into the same snow covered mountain. It began to stretch the imagination.
posted by Cancergiggles at 6:03 PM on December 29, 2004

awesome
posted by nj_subgenius at 6:49 PM on December 29, 2004

This is mindbending. I've done jumps from 13,500' and I cannot imagine landing without a chute. I've had some hard landings with a chute. Granted, it was a lil' stiletto, but still. Amazing. *throws out reserve*
posted by exlotuseater at 8:01 PM on December 29, 2004

Funny, I was just thinking about this exact scenario today while up in a 757. I was planning on hitting water, though, which isn't well-represented in those links. I realize water isn't so soft at 120mph, and the Great Lakes might be a bit chilly right about now, but it seemed doable.

Thanks for the links, thisisdrew.
posted by whatnotever at 8:31 PM on December 29, 2004

whatnotever - from painful personal [beer-fueled boating stunt] experience I can vouch that water at 40mph is as about as cushy as wet concrete. You can expect it to be nearly solid at 120. Water is notoriously non-compressible. People get mooshed just jumping off mere bridges. If your 757 comes apart around you at 35,000ft and you are ejected without being shredded, I'd look for the nearest sphagnum moss bog on the steep side of a snow-covered mountain -- 'cause at terminal velocity, Lake Michigan might as well be an asphalt parking lot.
posted by Tubes at 12:56 AM on December 30, 2004

I saw something on T.V. once about a guy whose chute wouldn't; he was talking about how hard it is to get a landing target even if your chute is open, but he saw a small body of water and ended up hitting it. I think the water was three or four feet deep, and he ended up with two broken legs and broken ribs, but he survived. The height, however, was nowhere near 30,000 feet.

I wish I could remember where I saw it because, having said it, it seems like some ridiculous atmospheric legend.
posted by The God Complex at 3:16 AM on December 30, 2004

(wouldn't open)
posted by The God Complex at 3:17 AM on December 30, 2004

I'm a bit late to this thread, but does it really matter how far you fall, as long as you're high enough to reach terminal velocity before you hit the ground/water/bog? I mean, wouldn't a fall of 30,000 feet be pretty much the same as jumping off, say, the Empire State Building?
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:00 AM on December 30, 2004

Right -- I know this is totally ignorant, but isn't gravity like a constant 9.something meters per second? I realize that interacts with aerodynamics/friction, but don't you stop accelerating pretty quickly? If that's right, don't you reach terminal velocity in something like 300ft of falling or so?

I got a C in physics.
posted by Mid at 7:22 AM on December 30, 2004

Yeah, Mid, I don't know the exact formula, but from experience, you reach T.V. pretty quickly- I'd say in about 15 seconds or so you're going ~120 mph.
posted by exlotuseater at 12:36 PM on December 30, 2004

Earth's gravity, if I recall correctly, accelerates a falling body at 9.8 m/s/s, until it reaches a terminal velocity.

Wikipedia on terminal velocity :

The terminal velocity of an object falling towards the ground is the speed at which the gravitational force pulling it downwards is equal and opposite to the atmospheric drag (also called air resistance) pushing it upwards. At this speed, the object ceases to accelerate downwards and begins to fall at constant speed.

For example, the terminal velocity of a skydiver in a normal free fall position with a closed parachute is about 195 km/h (120 mile/h). This speed increases to about 320 km/h (200 M/h) if the skydiver pulls in his limbs ...

posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:07 PM on December 30, 2004