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The Herald, September 6, 1994
A WOMAN whose parachute malfunctioned plunged almost 3 000m into a marsh. After she landed on her back, she got up and apologised to her skydiving instructor.
“It’s the strangest reaction I’ve ever seen,” said Kevin Killin, an instructor at the Newmarket Skydiving School.
Sharon McClelland (26) of Newmarket was making her second parachute jump, her first freefall when her chute only partially opened on Saturday.
“She failed to follow proper procedure and open her back-up chute,” said Frank Watts, owner of the parachuting school.
The partially opened parachute slowed McClelland’s descent and ultimately saved her life.
“If I really knew what was happening, I don’t think I would have made it,” she said.
She was airlifted to hospital where she was treated for bruises and released. – Ziana-AP.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Skydiving is a popular but extreme sport. Despite its popularity, it remains a high risk sport with statistics showing that around one in 1 000 parachute openings don’t go according to plan. This has led to serious injuries, which can sometimes be terminal and in some instances can result in death.
When engaging in skydiving, it is important to be alert always and to follow safety precautions. The woman in the story forgot to open her back-up parachute and was saved because her parachute opened partially.
Shocks resulting from incidents we encounter can sometimes make us do strange things. The woman in the story was only worried about apologising to her instructor without thinking about her own welfare after a hard fall.
Under normal circumstances she would have been concerned about whether she incurred any injuries first before saying anything.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu