Highest falls survived without a parachute

This article attempts to list of the highest falls survived without a parachute. Some heights are difficult to verify due to lack of documentation and are approximate.

List of the highest falls survived without a parachute
Name Image Distance of fall Date Notes and References
Feet Meters
Vesna Vulović 33,330 10160[1] 1972 Flight attendant from Serbia who was the sole survivor of an airplane bombing mid-air. Likely landed in part of fuselage in heavily wooded and snow-covered mountainside. Suffered many bone fractures.[1][2][3]
Ivan Chisov 23,000 7000[1] 1942 Soviet Air Force lieutenant who was shot down by Germans during World War II, and skid down a ravine when his parachute failed to open. Suffered severe spinal injuries.[1]
Alan Magee 22,000 6700[1] 1943 American airman who was shot down by Germans and crashed through the glass roof of the St. Nazaire railroad station. Suffered several broken bones, severe damage to his nose and eye, lung and kidney damage, and a nearly severed right arm[1][4]
Nicholas Alkemade 18,000 5500[1] 1944 British Royal Air Force rear gunner survived a fall with only a broken wrist and leg. Landed in deep snow drift in a pine forest near Berlin.[1]
Christine McKenzie 11,000 3400 2004 South African skydiver who hit power lines and fractured pelvic bone.[5]
Juliane Koepcke 10,000 3200[1] 1971 Sole survivor of the LANSA Flight 508 plane crash, landed in seat and only suffered broken collarbone; hiked for 11 days through Peruvian rainforest to safety.[1]
James Boole 6,000 1800 2009 British skydiver who landed in snow in Russia. Broke back and rib, but was walking within a week.[1]

References
  1. "Five survivors of spectacular falls", Jon Kelly, BBC News Magazine, published 17 June 2013
  2. Sandomir, Richard (28 December 2016). "Vesna Vulovic, Flight Attendant Who Survived Jetliner Blast, Dies at 66". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  3. "Vesna Vulovic, air stewardess who survived a plane crash – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 3 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  4. "The story of the World War II gunner who fell 22,000 feet without a parachute and lived".
  5. "'Miracle' escape for SA skydiver". 24 August 2004.
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