Look, it was just a little skydiving accident, okay? Could have happened to anyone. It was my sixth jump and my first solo free-fall. No big thing, I'd had three tandem free-fall jumps before and two static-line/dummy ripcord pulls just to make sure I was ready. We go up to about 3500 feet in the little Cessna C-182. I'm a bit nervous because I'm thinking, Man, only 3500 feet, that's not a lot of time if I screw something up. Why won't they let me go higher so I'll have more time? Ah never mind, this is how they always do it, why fight it? Just get it done so they'll let you go higher next time...

The jumpmaster opens the door and we look down at the ground, three-fifths of a mile below. The air's clear, and we're positioned right over the DZ. "Okay, on the strut!" he yells. I crawl out, grab as far out on the wing strut as I can, and let my feet dangle toward the ground below. Hanging on as we fly, whee! I give him a look, and he nods to let me know I can go whenever I'm ready. I look forward, close my eyes, and breathe.

I open my eyes. Sky's beautiful, air's clear, God's in his heaven and all's right with the world. I open my hands and arch my back.

The plane falls away, a beautiful sight. This is just a "hop and pop" because I'm still in training, so right away I grab the ripcord. Staying arched, I bend my arm to my hip, my fingers splayed, making my hand as big as possible. There it is, wrap your fingers around it. I grab and pull. It doesn't come.

WHAT?!? <pullpullpull> It doesn't come. Damn! My arch isn't quite right so my body begins to tilt diagonally, head first. The horizon drops from sight and the ground looms toward me, filling my field of vision. Wow that's cool. I stay calm. Pull the reserve!? No not yet, plenty of time. It's 20, 25 seconds before I'll hit the ground so I'll keep trying for now.

<yankYANK yankyankYANK> Okayokay, pull the reserve if it doesn't come right n...<yankVIP! Flutter flutter FWOOMP!> Finally the ripcord yanks loose. Since I'm falling headlong, I take a hard jerk on the shoulders as the chute opens, then my body flips back over. I'm a bit out of sorts so I kick my legs as the chute's opening, damn, shouldn't have done that, bad form, and then I finally come aright and look: I've still got the ripcord, Good, didn't drop it, so I look up, is the canopy all the way open? and, seeing that the canopy's wide open and flapping in the breeze man that thing's tiny! like it should be, I stick the ripcord in my teeth and reach for the steering toggles. Just as I'm reaching for them, the voice of the jumpmaster on the ground comes through loud and clear: