# Could this man really have survived a fall from the 39th floor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 2, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353 "2010-09-02T05:57:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/21 "2010-09-02T15:16:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > [@qpw3141](#): > > > > There was an Yugoslavian air hostess, Vesna Vulovic, who fell 33,330 feet and survived when the DC3 she was in exploded. > > This is a bit misleading. People (myself included) often take this to mean that she was thrown clear of the fuselage by the blast, and fell all that way ‘naked’, but in fact she remained inside the fuselage. > > She didn’t survive a fall so much as survive a crash. Yes, I must admit that I assumed she’d fallen without attachments. On the other hand, I’m not aware of anyone else ever surviving being in an aircraft that exploded at 33,000ft so it’s still something of an achievement. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/22 "2010-09-02T15:50:25Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I mistrusted the reporting as much as the event. In the initial article, since edited, there was a quote from a fireman that he’d jumped somewhere between the 5th and 7th floor. But it turns out there are several witnesses so I guess it’s true. > > I understand there are “perfect circumstances” wherein people survive falls from great heights, but landing on a car doesn’t seem like one of them. I’m just glad he didn’t land on a pedestrian. I knew a guy who survived an ~80mph impact into a car when a skydiving stunt went wrong. He hit a used-car lot. Broke a lot of bones, had plenty of pins & screws in his body but he was still an active skydiver when I was jumping. A friend of mine bought the gear he was wearing at the time, we used to call it the “Racer Death Rig”, you could still see blood spots on the harness/container. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/23 "2010-09-02T16:03:02Z")
> [@Tranquilis](#): > > > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > > > So you’re saying that you _don’t_ want to buy my refrigachute? > > Only if you’ll demonstrate it for me. What’s to demonstrate? It works just like a regular parachute, except you can grab a cold beer on the way down. Geez. It’s not rocket surgery. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/24 "2010-09-02T16:04:59Z")
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, it’s not how fast you go, it’s how fast you stop. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/25 "2010-09-02T16:10:35Z")
[nitpick]Vesna Vulovic was in a DC9, not a DC3. 33,000 feet is a bit high for a gooney bird. [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/26 "2010-09-02T16:18:35Z")
> [@qpw3141](#): > > > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > > This is a bit misleading. People (myself included) often take this to mean that she was thrown clear of the fuselage by the blast, and fell all that way ‘naked’, but in fact she remained inside the fuselage. > > > > She didn’t survive a fall so much as survive a crash. > > Yes, I must admit that I assumed she’d fallen without attachments. > > On the other hand, I’m not aware of anyone else ever surviving being in an aircraft that exploded at 33,000ft so it’s still something of an achievement. No argument there. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/27 "2010-09-02T16:39:37Z")
Am I wrong for being amused that this guy survived a fall from 39 stories, while that other guy a couple of weeks ago died after jumping twenty feet onto a stage during a concert in California? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/28 "2010-09-02T16:50:09Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Am I wrong for being amused that this guy survived a fall from 39 stories, while that other guy a couple of weeks ago died after jumping twenty feet onto a stage during a concert in California? Meh. Just proves that living in Manhattan is uplifting while California sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/29 "2010-09-02T20:50:58Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Am I wrong for being amused that this guy survived a fall from 39 stories, while that other guy a couple of weeks ago died after jumping twenty feet onto a stage during a concert in California? > > Meh. Just proves that living in Manhattan is uplifting while California sucks. Winnah and new cham-pion! ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/30 "2010-09-02T21:22:27Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Am I wrong for being amused that this guy survived a fall from 39 stories, while that other guy a couple of weeks ago died after jumping twenty feet onto a stage during a concert in California? > > Meh. Just proves that living in Manhattan is uplifting while California sucks. Like the old saying: If you can fall 39 stories and live in New York, you can fall 39 stories and live anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/31 "2010-09-02T22:55:37Z")
[quote=“Tranquilis, post:9, topic:552353”] > [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > I wish we could hear the story behind the story. What did the car look like? How much impact damage was done to it? Did the seat get mangled and the floor pan bent? And does the owner keep the vehicle or give it up as jinxed? Will the faller sue the owner of the car? Thy [wish](http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-man-survives-40-foot-fall,0,3758704.story) is [granted](http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/02/2010-09-02_road_backll_be_long_painful.html). 1. Landed feet-fisrt through the back window and rear seat. 2. Car is BADLY messed-up - totalled, with a bent frame. 3. Faller is in critical condition with supremely screwed-up legs, but was conscious (and screaming) shortly after impact. 4. Per GMA, at least one of the owners (wife) of the car is _pissed_. And furthermore, I read where he left his glasses on the roof of the building. Wonder if that was about not wanting to see the future. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/32 "2010-09-02T23:00:07Z")
I worked with a guy who had survived a parachute failure. We all wondered at first how he survived. It didn’t take long to realize he must have landed on his head. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/33 "2010-09-02T23:17:19Z")
> [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > … And furthermore, I read where he left his glasses on the roof of the building. Wonder if that was about not wanting to see the future. I have read (no cite, sorry) that suicide jumpers often take off their glasses before they jump. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/34 "2010-09-03T01:08:25Z")
> [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > And furthermore, I read where he left his glasses on the roof of the building. Wonder if that was about not wanting to see the future. Insert tasteless superman wannabe joke. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/35 "2010-09-03T02:09:41Z")
Here’s an interesting site discussing human free fall. > **[The Free Fall Research Page, sponsored by Green Harbor Publications](http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/ffresearch.html)** > > Green Harbor Publications is the sponsor of The Free Fall Research Page ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/36 "2010-09-03T04:20:01Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > > [@Tranquilis](#): > > > > Only if you’ll demonstrate it for me. > > What’s to demonstrate? > > It works just like a regular parachute, except you can grab a cold beer on the way down. > > Geez. It’s not rocket surgery. Does it come with its own anvil? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/37 "2010-09-03T12:54:11Z")
> [@qpw3141](#): > > On the other hand, I’m not aware of anyone else ever surviving being in an aircraft that exploded at 33,000ft so it’s still something of an achievement. I’m not sure “achievement” is the right word. She was fortunate, but she didn’t really “achieve” something. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/38 "2010-09-03T15:37:11Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > > [@qpw3141](#): > > > > On the other hand, I’m not aware of anyone else ever surviving being in an aircraft that exploded at 33,000ft so it’s still something of an achievement. > > I’m not sure “achievement” is the right word. She was fortunate, but she didn’t really “achieve” something. Of course she did. Terminal velocity. 😃 _:: G,D & R ::_ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/39 "2010-09-03T16:16:57Z")
> [@Tranquilis](#): > > Terminal velocity. > 😃 Well, it mighta been terminal at one point, but she went into remission. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353/40 "2010-09-03T16:39:19Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > > [@Tranquilis](#): > > > > Terminal velocity. > > 😃 > > Well, it mighta been terminal at one point, but she went into remission. Stewardess’ Journal: “Thrown from plane by large explosion. Have fallen 29000 feet. Everything going fine so far.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-this-man-really-have-survived-a-fall-from-the-39th-floor/552353.md?page=3)