A 35-year-old man in Cleveland, Ohio found himself helplessly dangling from a building when his parachuting jump went wrong on August 9.
The young man was one of five base jumpers who descended from the same building in the early hours of Sunday morning. The first four landed safely, whilst the final parachuter slammed into the side of the 19 News Studio and hung there vulnerably for some time.
Speaking to police, the young man described himself as a ‘thrill-seeker’ who chases adrenaline after retiring from the Marines. He claimed to have already jumped multiple times that day and had used a plane from Cleveland Sky-Diving Centre for sky-diving as well.
The accident happened, according to the man, when the cords used to control the parachute broke and he was unable to steer left towards the ‘grassy patch’ he was supposed to land on. Lt. Norman of Cleveland Fire Department states that the parachuter was caught in a gust of wind, which was simply unfortunate for him. The man in question remains nameless and has refused to speak to any news organisations.
He was suspended 40 feet above the air until firefighters were able to rescue him with a ladder truck. Upon his safe return to the ground, he received medical attention for a broken leg suffered in the crash.
Base jumping (BASE jumping) is a recreational sport which involves jumping from still objects using a parachute. BASE is an acronym denoting the four categories of objects used as a jumping-off point: building, antenna, span and earth. Base jumping is a notoriously dangerous recreational activity. In 2016, 28-year-old Armin Schmieder live streamed his own death in a base-jumping accident; this tragic loss is just one of many fatalities in the extreme sport.
Luckily, this Cleveland-based incident was more of a spectacle than a tragedy, although the man involved will likely take more precautions in future when chasing thrills.
