According to a newspaper account, a paratrooper survived a training jump from 1200 ft when his parachute failed to open but prov

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2 months ago

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According to a newspaper account, a paratrooper survived a training jump from 1200 ft when his parachute failed to open but prov

ided some air resistance by ï¬apping unopen in the wind. allegedly he hit the ground at 100 mi/h after falling 8 seconds. test the accuracy of this account.

Physics

1 answer:

Softa [3K] · Answer 1 · 2026-03-19T00:31:48+03:00

Let's consider a few possibilities. 1. The lowest velocity of the paratrooper would be just before hitting the ground. 2. Given that the jump originated from a relatively short height, the paratrooper utilized a static line, allowing the parachute to deploy almost instantly after leaping. Hence, we will convert 100 mi/h to ft/s: 100 mi/h * 5280 ft/mi / 3600 s/h = 146.67 ft/sec. Based on the first assumption, the maximum distance fallen by the paratrooper would equate to 8 seconds at 146.67 ft/s, translating to 8 s * 146.67 ft/s = 1173.36 ft. This calculated distance is nearly on par with the jump height, validating both assumptions 1 and 2. Thus, this scenario seems plausible. Moreover, considering the terminal velocity for a parachutist in a freefall position with limbs spread out typically reaches 120 mi/h, which is slightly above the 100 mi/h mentioned in the article. This as well aligns with the notion of the parachute acting like a flag, adding some air resistance.