Once you penetrate the water’s surface, you will begin to decelerate at an extremely rapid rate; in fact, the force exerted on your body due to the sudden and rapid change in velocity would be too much to handle.
Jumping out of an airplane without a parachute… you don’t need a PhD to know it’s a terrible idea. One fairly obvious reason is the deadly consequences of such a stunt. However, what if, by some chance, you must jump out of a moving aircraft? What are the chances of surviving a free fall from thousands of feet above the ground?
Firstly, let’s hope that such a scenario never arises.
With a parachute, you still have a chance of landing safely, but jumping out of an aircraft without a parachute is clearly a last resort, and should only be considered when there are no other viable options for escaping from a plummeting airplane.
However, if you must jump, it is often recommended to aim for a large body of water, such as a sea or river, and try to land in that. Even if you execute this perfectly, what are your odds of survival?
What Is Wreckage Riding?
Prior to leaping, you should try to locate a large object that you can ‘ride’ during your impending free fall. In other words, be a ‘wreckage rider’ (a term coined by Jim Hamilton, a historian who compiled an online database of every imaginable human fall). Your chances of surviving such a deadly plunge may slightly increase if you are somehow cushioned by semi-protective debris that will absorb some of the immense amount of energy you will experience upon impact with the water’s surface.
Vesna Vulovic
A woman named Vesna Vulovic (an airline hostess from Yugoslavia) actually survived a 10,160-meter (a little over 10 kilometers) fall when a DC-9 exploded in mid-air. In fact, she is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for her miraculous survival. She was wedged between a catering trolley, the body of another crew member, and the tail section of the aircraft, all of which absorbed some of the impact energy that she would have experienced if she had fallen without these objects surrounding her. Interestingly enough, the first thing she asked for after waking from her coma was a cigarette!
Terminal Velocity
Free falling from a moving aircraft cruising at a typical altitude will eventually cause an individual to reach their terminal velocity, which is the velocity at which the downward motion of a free-falling body no longer increases. A regular skydiver, who jumps from a much lower height than where commercial airplanes usually fly in a ‘belly-to-Earth’ position, has a terminal velocity of around 120-140 mph (54 to 58 m/s). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that this could be the minimum speed you would have (depending on your mass) during the free fall.
When falling from a great height and hitting the surface of water, the impact can be compared to jumping from a building and hitting the sidewalk. Although water is not as solid as the sidewalk, it still exerts a force due to surface tension. The force exerted by the water depends on the mass and cross-section of the falling object. While mass cannot be changed, the cross-section area of the body can be altered. By assuming a feet-first or head-down position, the body can minimize the surface area and reduce the force of impact. However, these positions increase the velocity due to reduced air drag. After breaking the water’s surface, the body decelerates rapidly, causing a force that is too much for a human to handle. This force can lead to internal hemorrhaging and fatal injuries. Therefore, the chances of survival are extremely slim if one jumps into water from an airplane without a parachute. However, keeping these techniques in mind and staying composed may slightly increase the chances of survival.