Terrifying footage of sky-diving planes colliding mid-air captured by jumpers' helmet-cams as they managed to parachute to safety
- Footage emerged from the Wisconsin plane crash on the weekend that saw nine skydivers make emergency jumps from their planes after a collision
- Majority of the video taken from the helmet of one of the divers, Amy Polson, who inside the lead plane when it made contact with the second, causing an eruption of flames
- You can see the moment two jumpers were sent flying into the air after impact
- Miraculously, all nine involved survived, with only one reporting injuries
- Investigation underway to determine how the planes came to hit
It was meant to be a moment of perfectly-timed air acrobatics and exhilarating free-falls.
Instead it turned into a terrifying jump-for-your-life situation for a group of experienced skydivers, who are lucky to be alive following a scary collision between two light aircraft above Wisconsin.
And the entire thing has been caught on camera.
Heart-stopping footage captured on the helmet cams of the some of the jumpers has been unearthed by an NBC News Exclusive following the crash on Saturday, in which one Cessna suddenly sandwiched atop another.
The collision sent one of the planes off into fire-balling into the distance, which can be seen in the video.
All nine skydivers involved miraculously survived by spontaneously jumping out seconds after the crash and landing safely on the ground.
Scroll down for video
Incredible: Five of the skydivers involved in the Wisconsin plane crash on Saturday fall from the sky after the aircraft accidentally collided, causing one to erupt in flames
Jump!: One diver makes a speedy escape from the plane as the fiery cabin of the other comes flying towards them
Exact: This is the moment the two planes hit, sending two divers who were preparing to jump flying out of the aircraft
Fiery: The cabin of the lead plane lights up in orange after its wing catches fire following the crash. This is the plane the pilot was able to use his emergency parachute to escape
'We were just kind of lucky that we were at the point where we were out of the airplane,' said 64-year-old flight instructor Mike Robinson, who was in the lead plane.
'If we'd been back in the rear of the airplane when they collided it might have been a little bit different.'
Both wings came off the lead plane in the collision and the pilot had to abandon the plane using a parachute on board.
He was the only one with reported injuries, suffering from cuts as he exited the burning plane.
The pilot of the other plane was able to pull out of a dive and land at Richard I. Bong Airport in Douglas County.
One of the pilots and all nine skydivers will appear live in studio with Matt Lauer on the TODAY show tomorrow morning.
In video licensed by NBC News, one plane appears to fly right on top of another, forcing skydivers from both planes to jump while avoiding burning debris. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
Falling: One of the divers tumbles out of the plane just after impact
Once out of the plane, the parachuters had to carefully maneuver their chutes to stay out of the path of raining debris.
'We're in free fall, so we're falling about 120 miles miles an hour vertically down,' Mr Robinson said. 'But then we open our parachutes, and now all of a sudden they're falling faster than we are...Fortunately, eveybody kept it together so they just avoided (the debris).'
All 11 on board the two planes survived the collision. The only person injured was the pilot of the lead plane, who was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
'He may need some stitches, but he's not seriously hurt,' Mr Robinson said.
Split apart: Both wings of the lead plane became detached and Robinson said he watched it crash to the ground in three pieces
Falling pieces: Several people in the Superior area reported seeing the plane falling to the ground but no one was injured by the debris
Miraculously, no one on the ground was injured by the falling wreckage - but plenty saw them crash to the ground.
Mike Plaunt lives in the area and often hears and sees the skydivers, but he noticed something was off about yesterday's jump.
'I went outside and looked and could see parachuters and a drop plane, and then there was something spiraling down. I couldn't identify what it was..it had a trail of smoke and I had never seen that before,' he said.
Happy to be alive: Two people hug after all 11 aboard the two planes landed safely
Quick thinking: The pilot of the tracking plane was able to land it safely, but the lead plane was not so lucky. It crashed to the ground in several piece. The pilot of that airplane escaped by parachute as well
While Mr Robinson still doesn't know why exactly the two planes collided, he believes the lead plane may have created unstable air for the tracking plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash today.
It's still uncertain what will happen to the skydiving company, since they only owned the two planes. But it is the end of their season anyway.
Mr Robinson says the crash yesterday happened during the fourth jump of his day, and that he's done over 900 jumps in his lifetime.
'I'll remember this one more than most,' he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment