A member of the Red Devils parachute team had a very lucky escape at an airshow in England on Friday, after two teammates’ parachutes got tangled during a display.
Whitehaven Air Show onlookers captured the incident, as the two paratroopers hurtled toward Queens Dock in Cumbria.
The Whitehaven Airshow originally said on its Facebook page Friday that one of two teammate’s parachutes failed to open. But it later clarified on Saturday that both parachutes did work properly.
“I would just like to take the time to clarify what happened with the Red Devils yesterday evening. All the parachutes did open and two of the team were going to perform a stacking maneouver,” Whitehaven Air Show wrote on Facebook Saturday.
“The two members of the team then managed to get tangled, and were unable to complete the display as would usually happen. As the team train for most eventualities, they continued with a semi-controlled descent into a clear piece of water, where the rescue services we had on standby were called into action and were literally on the scene within seconds of splashdown.”
Neither of the two paratroopers were injured.
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Here is the Red Devils incident from last night, all images are strictly copyright Chris Gurney.
Posted by Whitehaven Airshow 2015 on Saturday, June 20, 2015
The Red Devils, the official parachute display team of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment, carry out more than 60 displays for the public every year.
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