Parachute Facts

Nicholas Alkemade, a pilot during World War 2, survived falling 18,000 feet after jumping from a burning Lancaster bomber.

There is an extreme sport called Banzai Skydiving where you throw your parachute out of the airplane first, then jump after it, catch it in freefall, strap it on, and deploy it before hitting the ground.

Skydiver Debbie Williams was knocked unconscious in a midair collision over Arizona in 1987, and loadmaster Gregory Robertson dove after her, knowing he might fall too low to open his own parachute. He reached her in free fall, pulled her reserve ripcord and pushed her clear. Only then did he open his own, about 13 seconds from the ground, and both of them landed alive.

Tom Cruise jumped from a helicopter with a burning parachute 16 times for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Each canopy was soaked in fuel and set alight at least 7,500 feet up. He cut it loose after about three seconds and opened a backup. He was 62, and Guinness made it a world record.