A skydiver who crashed into the scoreboard at Virginia Tech on Saturday said the structure saved his life and the lives of fans after sudden wind gusts pushed him off course and left him hanging above Lane Stadium.
Pasha Palanker, a veteran parachutist and Purple Heart recipient, told “Fox & Friends First” on Tuesday that gusts of wind much stronger than anticipated nearly sent him, along with the massive American flag attached to him and its anchor, careening into the stands at the spring football game.
“That 1,100-square-foot flag is anchored by a 26-pound weight, which — that would have hurt some of the fans sitting in the stands,” he said.
“And as I was looking for a way out to land somewhere outside the stadium, a crosswind shear gusting at 27 knots which is — our limit is 14 knots — picked up that flag as you see in the video and sent me into that jumbotron.”
A viral video shows Palanker crash into the scoreboard, where he remained suspended for about 20 minutes while awaiting rescue. He praised the fire department’s quick response time.
Palanker said he has performed more than 1,100 jumps and has never experienced anything like this. He said the jump would have been canceled if the windy weather had been forecast.
“This is not something you can train for,” he remarked.
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His arm is now in a sling due to shoulder injuries he sustained in the crash, but he said it could have been much worse.
“You can’t see from this angle [in the video], but there’s a road between the jumbotron and the stadium, and it’s a long way down. It was a long way down and had I not stayed on that jumbotron, I would have fallen to my death.”
He had to release the flag to prevent it from getting caught in the wind and dragging him to the ground, he told Fox News, and then he had to make sure the parachute itself didn’t inflate again.
Despite his close brush with death at the Hokies game, Palanker said he will “absolutely” be skydiving again once his injury heals.
