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              WATCH: US Skydiver Freefalls from 7 km - into a Net

   by VOA News

   Safety tests on the net that would catch Luke Aikins indicated that the
   risk-motivated American skydiver might not survive the seven kilometer
   jump without a parachute.

   To come [1]out alive, he need to navigate throwing himself from a plane
   above California's Simi Valley on Saturday, reaching terminal velocity
   (193 km/hour) in a belly-to-earth fall that lasted about two minutes,
   and land inside the 30 meter by 30 meter net awaiting him just above
   the desert floor.

   "If I wasn't nervous I would be stupid," he said ahead of the jump
   Saturday, according to [2]The Guardian. "We're talking about jumping
   without a parachute, and I take that very seriously. It's not a joke."

   At least one trial run with a dummy failed, with the weight crashing
   through the net.

   After two years of planning, trials and errors, though, the 42-year-old
   stunt man lept from a Cessna along with three other skydivers (who had
   parachutes) who recorded the descent and carried gear Aikins needed
   early in the jump, like an oxygen mask.

   Aikins fell spreadeagle, then rolled onto his back moments before
   impact. The net stretched low to cushion his fall as he entered record
   books as the first netted freefall from that height.

   He lay motionless for several moments as the net was lowered to the
   ground. Then, Aikins sprang to his feet, arms victoriously in the air,
   and hugged his wife.''

   "I'm almost levitating, it's incredible," he said [3]after landing.

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   [4]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-skydiver-freefalls-from-7km-into-a
   -net/3443198.html

References

   1. http://www.foxsports.com/video?vid=735446083712
   2. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/28/skydiver-luke-aikins-jump-without-parachute-live-tv
   3. http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/skydiver-luke-aikins-jumps-out-of-plane-with-no-parachute-into-net-073016
   4. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-skydiver-freefalls-from-7km-into-a-net/3443198.html