Random People Who Fell from Ridiculously High Heights, But Managed To Survive (12 items)

(#9) Teen Survived Suicide Leap From Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge has become a hugely popular location for those attempting to commit suicide. The 200+ ft fall kills 98% of all of those who jump on impact, and the icy cold waters below make it even harder to survive. But survival is possible. This is exactly what happened to a 16-year-old girl who jumped from the bridge in April 2011.

Precisely how she survived is not known, but research suggests that the younger and fitter a person is the more likely they are to manage to live through the ordeal.
(#7) James Boole Stayed Alive During A Skydive Gone Wrong
James Boole is an incredibly experienced skydiver who completed some 2,500 jumps during his lifetime. However, all of this experience did not prevent him from falling 6,000 ft in Russia when he opened his parachute too late for it to fully inflate. He hit the ground with a tremendous amount of force, leaving a one-yard crater in the snow.

Somehow, Boole was able to survive, sustaining a broken back and ribs. This allowed a miraculous recovery whereby he could walk after just a week of the accident.
(#3) Juliane Koepcke Lived After Her Plane Was Struck By Lightning
Juliane Koepcke was a passenger on a flight traveling over Peru on Christmas Eve in 1971 when the plane began to experience heavy turbulence. After several minutes of passing through the storm, an engine on the wing was hit by lightning, and the aircraft plummeted towards the ground. Juliane was the only survivor out of the 91 passengers on board, and the 17-year-old landed in the jungle with a broken collar bone, one shoe, and only a few sweets for food.

She spent 10 days in the Peruvian jungle before she was rescued. The leading theory for how she survived is that the heavy vegetation softened her fall while the row of seats she was strapped in acted as a makeshift glider.
(#1) Vesna Vulovic Holds The Record For The Highest Fall Survived Without A Parachute
In January 1972, Vesna Vulovic was on a flight over what was then Czechoslovakia as a flight attendant for Jugoslavenski Aerotransport. The aircraft broke up in midair when a bomb exploded onboard, killing everybody with the exception of Vulovic. She fell an estimated 33,333 ft before landing on the ground and somehow managed to survive. She was seriously injured from the accident, however.

She spent 16 months in the hospital and was in a coma for 27 days, as well as having dozens of broken bones. However, she went on to make a full recovery.
(#11) The World War II Gunner Who Jumped From A Burning Plane Lived
The year of 1944 was a torrid time for anyone living in Europe, but members of the Royal Air Force faced even more danger as it was the height of the Battle of Britain. In March of that year, rear gunner Sgt Nicholas Alkemade was in a Lancaster bomber that was hit by enemy fire. With his parachute destroyed by the resulting fire, the airman had only one choice – to jump from the plane before it crashed.

Falling from at least 18,000 ft, his landing was softened by trees and deep snow in Berlin, meaning he only broke a wrist and his leg.
(#5) Alan Magee Lived Through A Plane Crash
WWII Air Force Sergeant Alan Magee was part of a B-17 Flying Fortress crew that was hit by German fire during a mission. The airman not only found himself plummeting towards the planet’s surface in the wreckage of his plane, but he had also been hit by gunfire during the attack. Yet, miraculously, he still managed to eject himself from the aircraft.

Falling through the air, Magee found that his parachute wouldn't work as it had been damaged, meaning he was in free fall when he crashed through the glass ceiling of a train station. Bizarrely, this glass ceiling actually managed to save his life, cushioning the fall enough so that he only had some minor injuries.