Skydiver Almost Pulverized By Meteorite

There are any number of risks associated with skydiving. Here are some of the biggest ones: the chute not opening, the plane crashing, passing out mid-jump, forgetting to open the chute, colliding with another skydiver, getting the chute stuck in a tall tree, and you name it. But here’s another risk you may not have considered before: getting hit by a meteorite. I can assure you I’m not making this up.

Anders Helstrup was recently skydiving somewhere near the Oslo area when he had an unexpected visitor pass by him in the air. While he didn’t exactly “see” it while he was in the air, he definitely felt something rush past him. After looking at the video recorded from his helmet, Helstrup was certain that something wasn’t right, and he took the video to the University of Oslo. The university confirmed that it was indeed a meteorite that almost struck him.

That’s Not Something You See Every Day

The university told Helstrup that the meteorite was in its “dark flight”, meaning that it was falling straight down at terminal velocity. While watching the video at normal speed, it’s almost impossible to see the falling object – but when the video is slowed, it is clear to see that something is definitely rushing past Helstrup, and it’s clearly not a bird.

When interviewed after the fact, he was asked what would’ve happened if he had been hit by the meteorite. He kind of shrugged it off and said he probably would’ve lost his head. I can’t disagree with him there.

I don’t know about you, but this gives me another reason not to go skydiving in the near future. Who would’ve thought we’d have to worry about falling meteorites while also having to remember to pull the parachute cord in time? But hey, not every skydiver out there can say they’ve had a close call with a meteorite.

[Image via outsideonline]

SOURCE: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/holy-f-ck-this-skydiver-almost-got-hit-by-a-meteorite-1557739698/+jesusdiaz