Christine McKenzie, Skydiver
11,000 feet onto power lines
South African skydiver Christine McKenzie leapt from an airplane and parachuted safely to the ground more than 100 times in her life. But in August 2004, while executing jump number 112, a crucial step in the skydiving process failed: Her main parachute didn't open. Hurtling to the ground at 100 mph, McKenzie attempted to open her emergency chute, which also failed. Luckily, she landed across a string of power lines before falling all the way to the ground, and the 11,000-foot plummet left her with only a broken pelvis.
The give in the lines dampened the force of her descent, says Izenberg, who assists both police and the National Guard with trauma injuries. "By the time she hit the ground she had already used up and transferred the energy when she hit the power lines," he says. "In physics, [this change in momentum] is called impulse."
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