Parachutist saves teammate’s life mid-air after chute fails

In a dramatic mid-air rescue, a parachutist with the British Army’s Red Devils stunt team saved the life of a fellow jumper after his parachute failed during a stunt jump.

Corporals Wayne Shorthouse, 32, and Mike French, 34, faced catastrophe as they tried to perform a stacking display at Whitehaven Air Show in Cumbria, northern England.

The drama played out above the heads of anxious spectators ended with Shorthouse wrapping his legs inside the ropes of his colleague’s deflated parachute and guiding him to the safety of the town’s Queens Dock.

A statement on the Facebook page for the airshow said one of the parachutists’ chutes failed to deploy properly.

Brian <g data-gr-id="19">Sherwen</g>, an official photographer for the event who witnessed the incident, said he saw the two men “dropping through the sky.” He was able to see exactly how the rescue unfolded through a videographer’s powerful zoom lens.

The two friends were part of a six-man team jumping from a PAC 750 aircraft.

Shorthouse was the first to exit the plane, with his colleague following a split second later. The manoeuvre then required French to “collide” with the partner he has been jumping with for almost five years. As the “pin”, French headed towards his comrade at speed so they could collide and Shorthouse <g data-gr-id="21">grab</g> his parachute and tuck his feet into it.