On April 18, 1987, a 31-year-old teacher from Texas was falling toward the Arizona desert, unconscious. Debbie Williams had just been hit in a midair collision, and the only person in a position to help had to decide, in seconds, whether to risk his own life.

A Collision Above Coolidge

Williams was one of six parachutists who jumped from an airplane at 13,500 feet over Coolidge, Arizona. She was a teacher from Post, Texas, and a novice with about 50 jumps.

The group was working to build formations in the air. Williams and another jumper, Guy Fitzwater, both moved toward the same formation without seeing each other and collided at about 9,000 feet.

The impact knocked Williams out cold. Fitzwater broke a leg but managed to open his own parachute.

He Dove After Her

Gregory Robertson, 35, had jumped from the same plane. He had just over 1,500 jumps behind him and was serving as loadmaster and safety and training advisor that day.

He saw the collision and dove toward her. According to the Carnegie Hero Fund, he did it knowing he could fall too low to open his own parachute.

He reached Williams in free fall, pulled the ripcord of her reserve parachute and pushed her away from him. Her canopy opened.

Robertson then opened his own parachute at about 2,200 feet, roughly 13 seconds from the ground, and landed safely.

What Happened Next

CBS Evening News aired the story on April 23, 1987, five days after the jump.

Williams was airlifted to a hospital. She had a skull fracture, broken ribs, a lacerated liver, a punctured lung and an injured kidney, and she survived.

The Carnegie Hero Fund, which honors people who risk their lives to save others, keeps a file on Robertson's rescue. The event was later re-enacted on the TV shows Rescue 911 and It's a Miracle.

Robertson wrote years later that the media attention lasted about a month, with occasional stories for 18 months afterward.

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