Knocked Unconscious Mid-Air: Skydiver Plummets 10,000 Feet Without a Parachute — Then a Tree Saves Her Life
A British skydiver has survived one of the most dramatic freefall accidents in recent years after being knocked unconscious mid-air and falling roughly 10,000 feet with no parachute initially deployed.
Holly Wiffen, a 35-year-old dental therapist from Okehampton in Devon, was taking part in a group “tracking” jump at Langar airfield near Nottingham on 7 August. Tracking involves experienced jumpers flying horizontally in freefall to build speed. Wiffen, who has completed around 425 jumps in just two years, exited the aircraft at approximately 12,000 feet.
Shortly after leaving the plane, another jumper misjudged his position. His shin struck the back of Wiffen’s helmet at high speed, knocking her out cold and ripping her helmet camera free. Helmet-camera footage captured the collision and the terrifying moments that followed: Wiffen tumbling helplessly toward the ground at speeds reaching about 150 mph, completely unresponsive.
A fellow skydiver attempted to dive after her and grab hold, but could not close the distance in time and was forced to deploy his own parachute at around 3,000 feet. Wiffen continued to fall.
Somehow, despite remaining unconscious and later having no memory of the action, she pulled her main parachute ripcord at roughly 1,000 feet — only about five seconds before impact. Her automatic activation device then fired the reserve parachute because of the high speed and low altitude. The two canopies became entangled in a dangerous “downplane” configuration, which actually accelerated her descent to an estimated 40–50 mph rather than slowing it safely.
She crashed into a conifer tree that absorbed much of the remaining force, then hit the ground just yards from a main road and near power lines, caravans and buildings — far from the designated landing area. Fellow jumpers who saw her disappear assumed they would be recovering a body.
Wiffen regained consciousness on the ground. Her left leg was pointing the wrong way. She suffered a badly broken left leg that later required a metal rod, a fractured spine, and extensive bruising. After surgery in Nottingham and time in hospital, she is now recovering at her parents’ farm on crutches.
Remarkably, the near-fatal experience has not ended her passion for the sport. Wiffen has said she intends to return to skydiving as soon as her injuries allow. She describes the activity as pure joy and camaraderie that she would miss too much to give up.
Mid-air collisions remain rare in skydiving, especially among experienced groups, yet the incident highlights both the inherent risks of high-speed formation flying and the life-saving role of automatic activation devices and sheer luck — in this case, a tree that stood between certain death and survival. Wiffen’s story stands as a stark reminder of how thin the margin can be between catastrophe and a second chance.
