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A skydiver jumped out of a plane 5 miles up without a parachute and successfully landed in a net

Cork Gaines   

A skydiver jumped out of a plane 5 miles up without a parachute and successfully landed in a net
Sports3 min read

2016 07 31_9 25 47

YouTube/MrTreknation

On Saturday, Luke Aikins became the first person to ever successfully skydive from an airplane without a parachute or wingsuit and successfully land back on the ground.

In a stunt titled, "Heaven Sent Jump" and aired on FOX, the 42-year-old Aikins jumped out of a plane about five miles up (25,000 feet) and more than two minutes later, he landed in a net. 

The net that Aikins was aiming for is about 100 feet, by 100 feet, according to NPR. The 10,000 square-feet is about one-third the size of a football field.

Here is how the jump unfolded. You can see the full video at the end.

25,000 feet

Above the target zone, Aikins and three support skydivers jumped out of the plane. Aikins does not have a parachute.

2016 07 31_8 45 37

YouTube/MrTreknation

23,000 Feet

Almost immediately after jumping out of the plane, Aikins starts practicing a rollover onto his back. This is how he must land in the net to avoid serious injury.

 

17,000 feet

After 8,000 feet of free falling, Aikins is traveling 150 mph and his heart is beating nearly as fast at 148 beats per minute.

Aikins also has to adjust for win speed as he aims for a target he can barely see.

2016 07 31_8 54 54

YouTube/MrTreknation

15,000 feet

Aikins is now 40% of the way to the ground and one of Aikins' support divers takes Aikins' oxygen mask.

Shortly after this, at about 12,500 feet, Aikins hears a beep in his helmet telling him he is halfway to the ground.

2016 07 31_8 57 56

YouTube/MrTreknation

7,000 feet

At the 7,000-foot mark, Aikins has already been falling for more than 90 seconds and yet the net that he is aiming for still looks incredibly tiny.

2016 07 31_9 02 36

YouTube/MrTreknation

5,000 feet

With about one mile to go, Aikins practices his rollover a final time. Once his support divers see that he is OK, they release their own parachutes.

Aikins is now officially on his own and the ground is coming quickly.

 

1,000 feet

This is Aikins' view of the target about six seconds before he reaches the ground. It is a white net over a green background.

The distance from one side of the net to the other side is about the length of a basketball court.

2016 07 31_9 08 42

YouTube/MrTreknation

500 feet

After free falling for more than two minutes, Aikins flips over onto his back about one second before impact and successfully landed in the net.

 

Once the net was lowered, Aikins jumped up, uninjured, and celebrated with his team.

2016 07 31_9 23 34

YouTube/MrTreknation

Here is the full jump via YouTube account MrTreknation.

 

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