Los Angeles - A daredevil skydiver on Saturday became the first to jump from a height of 25,000 feet (7,620 metres) without a parachute, landing in a net in southern California, a spokesman said.
Luke Aikins, 42, who has 18 000 jumps under his belt, completed the jump in Simi Valley, landing in a net measuring 100 feet by 100 feet (30m X 30m) in a feat broadcast on Fox.
“Aikins' leap represents the culmination of a 26-year career that will set a personal and world record for the highest jump without a parachute or wing suit,” his spokesman Justin Aclin said in an email.
Lights were set along the side of the net to serve as a guide for Aikins to aim himself as he hurtled toward it.
“I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous,” Aikins told an interviewer on the Fox broadcast, before boarding a propeller plane to perform the jump.
Reuters
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