Lucky escape for paratrooper after chute failed to open

A Greek paratrooper almost fell to his death when his parachute failed to open during a recent military exercise over Cyprus.

The incident took place during a military exercise earlier this week conducted by the Hellenic special forces over Cypriot skies involving static line parachute drops from a C-130 Hercules.

According to news reports, the trooper’s parachute failed to open and he was left hanging attached to the static line in midair from a moving plane at 5000 feet for several minutes but was then hoisted back into the aircraft by his colleagues.

The paratrooper attempted to restore his chute while hanging in midair by the safety ring connecting the static line to the chute bag but was unable to do so.

His colleagues then managed to hoist the trooper back into safety and now stand for a military decoration by the chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff.

“The parachute failed to open but the standard operating procedure for such an event was implemented thus avoiding the worst outcome,” said spokesman of the Cypriot defence ministry Christos Pieri.

The trooper suffered no injuries but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The C-130 had taken off from Larnaca airport.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InS6jz51wo8