# save yourself from the falling elevator

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/save-yourself-from-the-falling-elevator/366696>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 31, 2006, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/save-yourself-from-the-falling-elevator/366696 "2006-07-31T12:39:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/save-yourself-from-the-falling-elevator/366696/21 "2006-08-01T01:59:06Z")

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If people can [survive parachute failure](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/13/earlyshow/main1120132.shtml) at 3,000 feet and land face first in a parking lot, I imagine it is possible to survive an elevator fall.

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**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/save-yourself-from-the-falling-elevator/366696/22 "2006-08-01T14:11:05Z")

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[QUOTE=CookingWithGas]  
If people can [survive parachute failure](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/13/earlyshow/main1120132.shtml) at 3,000 feet and land face first in a parking lot, I imagine it is possible to survive an elevator fall.  
[/QUOTE]

According to the article quoted, she was travelling at 50 mph at the time of impact, well short of the human terminal velocity of 120 mph. So her parachute failure wasn’t total - something was slowing her down, just not enough for a safe fall.

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