How to Survive a Fall: Australian Woman Erin Langworthy Survives 111-Meter Bungee Jump Accident
It's the worst fear of bungee jumpers everywhere - the cord snapping leaving the jumper falling to his death. That is what happened to 22-year old Erin Langworthy as she bungee jumped 111 meters down from the Victoria Falls bridge only to drop to a croc infested river - and survive. With that in mind, is there anything anyone can do when they're plunging to their deaths?
For Erin, bungee jumping was just part of having fun during the holidays. But because of a horrible twist, she went through the only free thing that is not good - free fall. The fact that she lived to tell about it has everyone in awe and wondering if she did something to survive that 111 vertical meters.
There is no other way to putting it, if a person falls from a great distance, even if it were just from a two-story building, that person will get hurt or even die. But there are some things that people can keep in mind in order to survive those drops, but it takes presence of mind and fighting human instincts.
With the little time a person has to think when falling, try hold back on all of life's flashbacks and focus on what is happening at the very moment. Fight what natural instincts are doing and try to loosen the whole body up, this is because having the muscles stiff will only result in a more violent landing, according to eSsortment.com.
Having the muscles all loose, try to land feet-first as this will allow the feet and legs to absorb most of the impact. Another thing to remember when landing feet-first is to land on the balls of the feet, and to bend the knees as this can reduce the magnitude of impact forces 36-fold, WikiHow.com reported.
And as if preparations before hitting the ground weren't enough, try to use the surroundings to one's advantage. Think Jackie Chan in his movies where he falls 10 stories safely because he was grabbing onto something. If there wasn't anything to grab onto, don't lose hope, just try to maneuver where it is you'll be landing and hope that it's something soft like a pile of pillows.
But if there aren't any piles of pillows around, try to roll and tumble when falling into solid ground. Anyone who does parkour know this tip all too well as rolling after falling will dissipate the energy of the fall. For the lucky ones who will fall into a body of water, like Erin, remember to land feet-first, toes pointing down at the moment of the impact, and to cover the groin area.
With enough presence of mind and luck, hopefully, a person who falls will live to tell about it like Erin.
Here is a video by 9 News of what happened to Erin Langworthy.