What's the highest a human has ever fallen from unaided and lived?

Question

What's the highest a human has ever fallen from unaided and lived?

Answer 1

WW2 an RAF rear gunner fell 15,000 ft and lived

Answer 2

47 stories. he was washing windows and the cord broke and him and his brother fell. his brother died but he lived.

Answer 3

In early 1944 Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade was a rear gunner in a Lancaster bomber taking part on a night raid on Berlin. A German fighter caused massive damage to the aircraft, during which the perspex bubble of Alkemade's turret was destroyed; nevertheless, he managed to shoot back and cripple the enemy fighter.

By now the aircraft was afire and plainly doomed, and Alkemade made his way back through the fuselage to where his parachute was stacked only to find it had been consumed by the flames. The aircraft was some 3 miles high at this point, and faced with the choice of jump or burn, Alkemade chose to jump. On the way down he blacked out, and awoke on the ground unharmed. Unable to believe what had happened, he sat on a snow bank and lit a cigarette, which attracted the attention of a German patrol.

Having no parachute, the Germans were initially unwilling to believe Alkemade's story, and he was due to be shot as a spy

when the discovery of the wreckage of his aircraft confirmed what had happened. A subsequent investigation found that his fall had been absorbed by a series of snow-covered tree branches, and finally halted by a large drift of snow, down the side of which he had glided.

He was cheered by British and German alike in the prisoner of war camp, and his feat remains unique as being the only man ever to fall over 3 miles and escape unharmed.

Answer 4

I heard about a sky diver who fell from 3000 metres, landed on concrete, but survived because of the flexibility of her ribcage.

Answer 5

I read about a russian air stewardess who fell 32,000 ft and lived because she landed in deep snow.

Answer 6

A few years ago a Parachute regiment squaddie skydived from 20,000 foot, his parachute failed, he lived as he was so well muscled that his muscles contained the energies of a hard landing. He broke quite a few bones but lived.

Answer 7

Some years ago a Japanese 747 broke up in mid air. There were 4 survivors, who were cushioned by a soft landing and their seats into which they were strapped. I don't know how far they fell but it was a long way.

Answer 8

This is the record given above:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulov...

There's also some in here:

http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/unlu...

I remember this because of Arch Deal - I was in Florida at the time his parachute didn't open.  He didn't let that stop him.

DK