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  • You're more than 3.6 km (12,000 ft)

  • above the Earth.

  • And there's no turning back now.

  • But as you jump out of the plane,

  • and see how beautiful

  • the Earth looks below you,

  • you start to think this might not be so bad.

  • Then you pull the cord

  • to open your parachute,

  • and all your worst fears come true.

  • There's no parachute coming out,

  • and now you're plummeting towards

  • the ground at about 200 km/h (125 mph).

  • You've only got a minute

  • before you hit the ground.

  • Is there anything you can do

  • to save yourself?

  • Every time your life depends on a parachute,

  • there is a 1 in 1,000

  • chance that it won't work.

  • But a malfunctioning parachute

  • isn't necessarily a death sentence.

  • According to skydiving experts,

  • the secret to surviving

  • is all about how you react

  • when the parachute fails.

  • Just like most survival situations,

  • the best thing to do

  • is to slow everything down.

  • Slow down your breathing

  • and avoid hyperventilating,

  • slow down your thoughts so you can focus,

  • and slow down the speed of your fall

  • so you don't splatter on the ground.

  • To do that,

  • you'll need to spread out your body

  • into an x-shape.

  • Spread your arms and legs,

  • point your chest towards the ground,

  • and arch your back and head upward.

  • This will create more air resistance,

  • and slow your acceleration,

  • giving you time to choose where to land.

  • Although the giant pool of liquid

  • below you might look like a more

  • appealing landing spot than the solid ground,

  • it would probably be just as deadly.

  • Like concrete, water doesn't compress,

  • so landing in a lake

  • would be just like landing on a sidewalk.

  • Sure, you could position yourself

  • to reduce the impact, but

  • even then you could

  • still be knocked out cold.

  • And being unconscious underwater

  • does not help you survive,

  • so let's find somewhere better.

  • To move sideways through the air,

  • away from the water,

  • and towards a safer target,

  • you'll need to use a skydiving technique

  • called tracking.

  • Bring your arms and legs in

  • against your body to steer it as you fall.

  • Your three best options for landing spots

  • would be a swamp,

  • snow,

  • or trees, because

  • they would all extend your deceleration time

  • and help you slow down.

  • For instance,

  • If you were to land on solid ground,

  • your body would decelerate

  • from its falling speed of 200 km/h (125 mph)

  • to 0 km/h in half a second,

  • hitting you with enough g-force

  • to kill you instantly.

  • But if you were to land somewhere that

  • provides more cushioning,

  • you could extend that deceleration

  • by a couple of seconds, which

  • would significantly reduce the g-force,

  • and give you a better chance of surviving.

  • If you can't see a swamp, snow, or trees

  • anywhere nearby, then

  • your next best option

  • would be to look for something big

  • to break your fall, like a rooftop, or a bus.

  • These structures are not very strong,

  • so when you hit them,

  • they'll break and absorb some of the energy

  • of your fall.

  • So now it's the moment of truth.

  • You've chosen your target landing spot,

  • and now you're going to hit it.

  • The best way to do this

  • would be to point your toes

  • toward the ground,

  • and land on the balls of your feet.

  • I know what you're thinking.

  • "That sounds painful!"

  • And you're right, it will be.

  • But the idea is that

  • your body will have more time

  • to slow down if you land feet-first.

  • The long bones in your legs

  • will absorb a large amount of the

  • impact energy before they fracture.

  • Essentially, you'll be sacrificing your legs

  • to protect the rest of your body.

  • Just before landing,

  • put your head down, with the fingers

  • of each hand locked together behind it,

  • and point your elbows in front of your face,

  • to protect your head and neck from impact.

  • The main reason why people die

  • from falling off tall buildings and bridges

  • is severe head trauma.

  • Even if you do everything else right,

  • if you end up

  • bouncing on your head when you land,

  • you won't survive.

  • So quickly, get into position.

  • That should be all you need to

  • Are you still there?

  • Alright, now here comes the hard part.

  • You need to figure out where you are,

  • and get help as soon as possible.

  • But don't worry,

  • we've got just the video

  • to help you get you out of this alive.

You're more than 3.6 km (12,000 ft)

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