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| Five survivors of spectacular falls | Five survivors of spectacular falls |
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| A British man has survived a fall from the 15th floor of a New Zealand apartment block, according to local media. The odds may be against it, but others have lived after even more dramatic plummets. | A British man has survived a fall from the 15th floor of a New Zealand apartment block, according to local media. The odds may be against it, but others have lived after even more dramatic plummets. |
| Tom Stilwell, 20, fell while trying to lower himself onto his Auckland balcony from a neighbour's, which was directly above, in the early hours of Sunday, reports said. | Tom Stilwell, 20, fell while trying to lower himself onto his Auckland balcony from a neighbour's, which was directly above, in the early hours of Sunday, reports said. |
| His life may have been saved by the roof of an adjacent building, some 13 floors below, which reportedly broke his fall. | His life may have been saved by the roof of an adjacent building, some 13 floors below, which reportedly broke his fall. |
| However, history records others who have survived falls from much higher altitudes. | However, history records others who have survived falls from much higher altitudes. |
| Rainforest landing | Rainforest landing |
| On Christmas Eve 1971, Juliane Koepcke, 17, was flying over the Peruvian rainforest with her mother when her plane was hit by lightning. | On Christmas Eve 1971, Juliane Koepcke, 17, was flying over the Peruvian rainforest with her mother when her plane was hit by lightning. |
| "I was in a freefall, strapped to my seat bench and hanging head-over-heels," she told the BBC in 2012. "The whispering of the wind was the only noise I could hear." | "I was in a freefall, strapped to my seat bench and hanging head-over-heels," she told the BBC in 2012. "The whispering of the wind was the only noise I could hear." |
| But she survived a two-mile (3.2km) fall and found herself alone in the jungle with a broken collarbone and deep cuts on her legs. All the other 91 passengers on the flight had been killed. | But she survived a two-mile (3.2km) fall and found herself alone in the jungle with a broken collarbone and deep cuts on her legs. All the other 91 passengers on the flight had been killed. |
| Despite having only a single bag of sweets for sustenance and being clad in a sleeveless mini-dress, Koepcke - who had spent a year and a half with her parents at a research station in the rainforest - was familiar with the terrain. On her 10th day she found a group of lumberjacks who took her to civilisation. | Despite having only a single bag of sweets for sustenance and being clad in a sleeveless mini-dress, Koepcke - who had spent a year and a half with her parents at a research station in the rainforest - was familiar with the terrain. On her 10th day she found a group of lumberjacks who took her to civilisation. |
| Koepcke herself has suggested a number of possible explanations for her survival - that a gust of air from the storm may have slowed her fall; that the three-seat bench on which she sat spun like a a maple seed on its way down; that the vegetation she hit on the way down was particularly dense; and that she struck the trees with her seat beneath her, cushioning the drop. | Koepcke herself has suggested a number of possible explanations for her survival - that a gust of air from the storm may have slowed her fall; that the three-seat bench on which she sat spun like a a maple seed on its way down; that the vegetation she hit on the way down was particularly dense; and that she struck the trees with her seat beneath her, cushioning the drop. |
| Wartime miracle | Wartime miracle |
| In March 1944, Royal Air Force rear gunner Flt Sgt Nicholas Alkemade was travelling in a Lancaster bomber which caught fire during a Luftwaffe attack. | In March 1944, Royal Air Force rear gunner Flt Sgt Nicholas Alkemade was travelling in a Lancaster bomber which caught fire during a Luftwaffe attack. |
| His parachute had been destroyed in the flames, but Alkemade chose to leap at least 18,000ft (5,500m) rather than stay in the burning plane. | His parachute had been destroyed in the flames, but Alkemade chose to leap at least 18,000ft (5,500m) rather than stay in the burning plane. |
| He landed in a deep drift of snow in a pine forest outside Berlin. The snow, and the trees, appear to have cushioned his blow. | He landed in a deep drift of snow in a pine forest outside Berlin. The snow, and the trees, appear to have cushioned his blow. |
| When he was discovered by the Gestapo - who at first did not believe his story - his only injuries were a broken wrist and leg. | When he was discovered by the Gestapo - who at first did not believe his story - his only injuries were a broken wrist and leg. |
| He was not the only World War II airman to survive such a fall. US ball turret gunner Alan Magee dropped 22,000ft (6,700m) without a parachute over France in 1943 and lived, while Soviet navigator Ivan Chisov plummeted 23,000ft (7,000m) in 1942. | He was not the only World War II airman to survive such a fall. US ball turret gunner Alan Magee dropped 22,000ft (6,700m) without a parachute over France in 1943 and lived, while Soviet navigator Ivan Chisov plummeted 23,000ft (7,000m) in 1942. |
| Skydive gone wrong | Skydive gone wrong |
| James Boole, from Staffordshire in the UK, lived to tell the tale in 2009 after a 6,000ft (1,829m) free fall in Russia. | James Boole, from Staffordshire in the UK, lived to tell the tale in 2009 after a 6,000ft (1,829m) free fall in Russia. |
| Boole, who had been filming another skydiver, said he was supposed to have been given a signal to open his parachute, but it came two seconds too late. | Boole, who had been filming another skydiver, said he was supposed to have been given a signal to open his parachute, but it came two seconds too late. |
| "I really thought that I was going to die," he said afterwards. | "I really thought that I was going to die," he said afterwards. |
| The experienced skydiver, who had previously made 2,500 jumps, left a one-metre crater in the snow. | The experienced skydiver, who had previously made 2,500 jumps, left a one-metre crater in the snow. |
| His back and rib were broken but he was able to walk within a week with the assistance of a body brace. | His back and rib were broken but he was able to walk within a week with the assistance of a body brace. |
| Survival in the snow | Survival in the snow |
| In January 1972, 22-year-old Yugoslav flight attendant Vesna Vulovic's plane exploded following a suspected terrorist bomb. | In January 1972, 22-year-old Yugoslav flight attendant Vesna Vulovic's plane exploded following a suspected terrorist bomb. |
| The Guinness Book of Records recorded that Ms Vulovic plummeted 33,000ft (10,160m) before landing in snow at Srbska Kamenice in the former Czechoslovakia. | The Guinness Book of Records recorded that Ms Vulovic plummeted 33,000ft (10,160m) before landing in snow at Srbska Kamenice in the former Czechoslovakia. |
| Despite serious injuries including a fractured skull, three broken vertebrae and two broken legs, Ms Vulovic survived. | Despite serious injuries including a fractured skull, three broken vertebrae and two broken legs, Ms Vulovic survived. |
| She was found in the wrecked aircraft's fuselage, which may have cushioned her landing. | She was found in the wrecked aircraft's fuselage, which may have cushioned her landing. |
| She later said: "To this day I enjoy travelling and have no fear of flying." | She later said: "To this day I enjoy travelling and have no fear of flying." |
| Parachute disaster | Parachute disaster |
| In 1996, Bear Grylls' career as an adventurer and television personality was almost pre-empted at the age of 21, when a SAS training exercise went wrong. | In 1996, Bear Grylls' career as an adventurer and television personality was almost pre-empted at the age of 21, when a SAS training exercise went wrong. |
| During a skydive over Zambia, his parachute failed to inflate at 16,000ft (4,900m). | During a skydive over Zambia, his parachute failed to inflate at 16,000ft (4,900m). |
| "I should have cut the main parachute and gone to the reserve but thought there was time to resolve the problem," he later told the Daily Mail. | "I should have cut the main parachute and gone to the reserve but thought there was time to resolve the problem," he later told the Daily Mail. |
| Instead, he came to earth on his parachute pack, fracturing three vertebrae in the process. | Instead, he came to earth on his parachute pack, fracturing three vertebrae in the process. |
| Although his spinal cord was intact, he spent the next year undergoing 10 hours a day of rehabilitation including physiotherapy, swimming and ultrasound treatment. Some 18 months after the accident, he would reach the summit of Mount Everest. | |
| You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook | You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook |