jueves, 12 de marzo de 2015

MY FIRST PARACHUTE JUMP-by Rafa Elejabeitia

My first parachute jump:

This was supposed to be a normal initiation course in parachuting, but it turned out to be one of the most horrifying experiences of my life.

I was on a holiday trip with my family in Norway when I met a really friendly guy who was a member of the Oslo Parachute Club and he kindly invited me to participate in a beginners' session. Although I was scared to death I didn't want to miss the opportunity, so the next day I found myself in the doorway of a light plane wondering what I was doing there. Without much time to think and having forgotten all the instructions I had just been given, a red light came on and a hand tapped me on the shoulder saying "Prepare to jump!" A cold shiver went down my spine and my heart was pounding really hard. Then the red light changed to green and I was almost pushed out of the plane. "Oh my God!" I shouted to myself. There I was, 2000 metres up, falling towards the earth at what seemed to be supersonic speed, thinking it was the end of my short life.

All of a sudden I realized I had to react and grabbed the ripcord and quickly pulled it. There was a tremendous jerk as the parachute opened above me but then, to my astonishment , the strings got tangled and I was in desperate trouble. Fortunately I remembered that all parachutists carry a knife in their side pocket and I pulled it out, cut through the ropes in order to jettison the parachute so that I could open the emergency one. It was do or die.

As you can imagine, I came out safely because I'm here to tell the story, but I wouldn't recommend this experience to anybody.

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario