WATCH: Astonishing moment daredevil plunges 25,000ft… WITHOUT a parachute
THIS is the heart-stopping moment a skydiver plummets 25,000 feet towards the ground – without a parachute.
Daredevil Luke Aikins last night became the first person to jump out of a plane and land in a 100-by-100 foot net in Simi Valley, California.
The hair-raising jump lasted around two minutes, with the 42-year-old flipping onto his back at the last minute, narrowly landing in the net.
Skydiver Luke Aikins plunged the 25,000 feet without a parachute
Luke shoots towards the Earth with his three support jumpers
He practises flipping over onto his back in the air, which he'd have to do when he finally met the massive net.
At 5,000 feet, he was left all alone as the more conventional skydivers around him activate their chutes.
He then ploughs into the net to the relief of stunned spectators.
Luke, seen without a parachute, just seconds before he lands in the large net
A relieved Luke hugs spectators after the two-minute drop
But the skydiver, who did stunts for the Ironman 3 film, revealed he was nearly banned from jumping without a parachute.
He said he was ordered to put on a parachute but declared he would not open it.
And he wrote on Facebook after the nerve-wracking jump: “My vision was always proper preparation and that if you train right you can make anything happen.”
Felix Baumgartner famously plunged into the record books in 2012 after performing the world’s first supersonic dive.