Instructor Saves Skydiver At 12,000ft

Watch in awe as instructor Sheldon McFarlane rescues a novice skydiver.

At the time of the jump, which took place in Western Australia last November, McFarlane believed that his pupil Christopher Jones was suffering from "sensory overload" as he went into an uncontrollable spin at 12,000ft. In fact, the 22-year-old from Perth was having a seizure.

As you can see in the video below, McFarlane manages to pull Jones' ripcord for him at 4,000 feet. With an open parachute, the trainee regains consciousness at 3,000ft and lands without issue.

"At no time was I worried he was going to hit the ground without a parachute," McFarlane tells ABC News. "[however,] given the circumstances... I thought it would be better to get him under parachute earlier than later."

All pupils at the Western Australian Skydiving Academy have their parachutes hooked up to a computer that will fire first the primary, then reserve chutes in cases of emergency.

Regardless, the video shot on McFarlane's head-mounted camera looks like something out of an action film. What's particularly amazing is how far Jones drifts from his teacher before being rescued courtesy of a missile-like interception. Quite simply: Sheldon McFarlane is a real-life flying superhero.

The video has had over 3.5 million views since being uploaded yesterday.

[Via: Esquire]