Video Thai Paratrooper's Life-Saving Move Amid Mid-Air Chute Failure

[snoop1130]

Picture courtesy of ThaiRath

 

In a dramatic moment that underscores the perilous nature of military training, a Thai paratrooper narrowly escaped disaster when his parachute failed to deploy during a routine training exercise. The incident, which took place on May 19 at Vajiravudh Military Camp in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, was captured inadvertently by a jogger who happened to be filming the exercise.

 

Soldiers from the 4th Army's Sichon Special Warfare Training Camp were conducting their annual parachute jumps when a near-calamity struck. As local media man Thewan Ketkaew jogged through the adjacent Somdej Phra Srinagarindra 84 Public Park, he observed the soldiers leaping from a helicopter, their parachutes opening seamlessly – until one did not.

 

The 49-year-old Thewan described the heart-stopping moment to ThaiRath reporters. “One of the parachutes didn’t open, he just plummeted,” he recounted. What followed was a frantic race to the nearby pond, as Thewan feared the worst.

 

A rescue boat was promptly dispatched, finding only the soldier's tangled parachute in the water. However, news soon emerged that the paratrooper, demonstrating textbook composure and quick thinking, had cut himself free from the malfunctioning chute and deployed his reserve, landing safely on the military grounds.

 

A senior officer praised the soldier's actions, affirming that his adherence to emergency protocols saved his life. “This is why we train. His actions were swift and professional, he saved his own life,” the officer stated.

 

Relief washed over fellow paratroopers and commanding officers as the soldier emerged unscathed from what could have been a fatal incident. The reserve parachute has rightfully been credited with preventing a tragedy, while Thewan's footage serves as a sobering reminder of the inherent risks faced by military personnel even during training.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-05-20

 

 

[Gottfrid]

Fantastic! A person that can follow procedure.

[mfd101]

Wow! No wonder I was never a soldier, or anyone who moved too far from a desk and a pile of books.

[Tom89]

More stories like this and fewer about ladyboy brawls in Pattaya. 

[rumeaug]

Nice move, not easy to pull-off for anyone who has ever jumped in parachute. many accidents even in elite troops due to parachute malfunctioning.

[Baba Naba]

Damn! Why did they stop filming the fall? He wasnt going to be able to help him until he hit the ground/water!!!

[Watawattana]

Glad the guy is safe, but what a great job by all the jump instructors in drilling in the emergency procedures to the guy!

[Watawattana]

2 hours ago, Tom89 said:

More stories like this and fewer about ladyboy brawls in Pattaya. 

Yeah, and the stories that just descend into bickering rather than balanced debate.

[Zapitapi]

well done soldier!!

[hotchilli]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

A rescue boat was promptly dispatched, finding only the soldier's tangled parachute in the water. However, news soon emerged that the paratrooper, demonstrating textbook composure and quick thinking, had cut himself free from the malfunctioning chute and deployed his reserve, landing safely on the military grounds.

Well done....

[Kinnock]

Looks like a jump from a low altitude - so he must have acted very quickly.  Well done to him and the training was effective too.

[Purdey]

Well, I'd vote for him!

[Jimjim1]

3 hours ago, Baba Naba said:

Damn! Why did they stop filming the fall? He wasnt going to be able to help him until he hit the ground/water!!!

Brilliant !

Another Ghoul has been denied the chance to get his rocks off by seeing the aftermath had this lucky guy had not been able to deploy his spare chute.

well done to all the instructors involved in this and very best wishes to the parachutist.

[Maybole]

I did several jumps in the early 197s. It was forcefully drummed into us IF THE MAIN SHUTE FAILS TO OPEN PULL THE RESERVE IMMEDIATELY DO NOT FART ABOUT TRING TO OPEN THE MAIN. I never had a shute failure but this man did exactly as he had been trained to do.

[Baba Naba]

On 5/21/2025 at 2:50 PM, Jimjim1 said:

Brilliant !

Another Ghoul has been denied the chance to get his rocks off by seeing the aftermath had this lucky guy had not been able to deploy his spare chute.

well done to all the instructors involved in this and very best wishes to the parachutist.

    RUBBISH! I wanted to see this guys slick moves of his saving his own ass! 

                    But thanks for quoting me anyways Kevin.... 

[radiochaser]

12 hours ago, Baba Naba said:

    RUBBISH! I wanted to see this guys slick moves of his saving his own ass! 

                    But thanks for quoting me anyways Kevin.... 

I don't think you would have seen moves in that video.   The jumpers look to be pretty high up, much higher than the three jumps I made from helicopters, which was at 1200 feet (366 meters) above ground.    The jumps I made from a C141 and a C130 were, I think, over 2000 feet, possibly 2500. 

 

As someone else posted, you don't mess around with the main chute if it does not deploy because you don't have time to.  You immediately go to opening the reserve, grab it, and throw it away from you.   

 

 

[Hummin]

On 5/20/2025 at 7:23 PM, Gottfrid said:

Fantastic! A person that can follow procedure.

Exactly what I thought, got three reserve rides myself. 

[Hummin]

On 5/21/2025 at 9:49 AM, rumeaug said:

Nice move, not easy to pull-off for anyone who has ever jumped in parachute. many accidents even in elite troops due to parachute malfunctioning.

Not true, elite troops have a great statistical numbers with few accidents during parachute  exercises. 

[Hummin]

On 5/20/2025 at 7:23 PM, Gottfrid said:

Fantastic! A person that can follow procedure.

You got two dislikes for this obviously comment, fantastic

[Baba Naba]

5 hours ago, radiochaser said:

I don't think you would have seen moves in that video.   The jumpers look to be pretty high up, much higher than the three jumps I made from helicopters, which was at 1200 feet (366 meters) above ground.    The jumps I made from a C141 and a C130 were, I think, over 2000 feet, possibly 2500. 

 

As someone else posted, you don't mess around with the main chute if it does not deploy because you don't have time to.  You immediately go to opening the reserve, grab it, and throw it away from you.   

 

 

OK RC, you are not talking to some dirty, rotten, stinking "Leg" here.  If the malfunction cannot be corrected prior to hitting your hard deck (typically around 2,000-2,500 feet), you should cut away your main canopy and deploy your reserve.  Any time above that altitude you can atempt to clear your main.  I dont know what altitude these guys were jumping from but it was most likely done from around 10k feet and could have had time to try to clear the main.  We used to have several minutes to clear a fouled chute when we were doing HALOs from 25k!  From 10k you got around 30 seconds before you discard your main and deploy your reserve. You may also have a AAD or a RSL that can save your bacon... 😁 BTW I have a pair of green feet tattooed on my ass if that tells you anything....

[Hummin]

12 minutes ago, Baba Naba said:

OK RC, you are not talking to some dirty, rotten, stinking "Leg" here.  If the malfunction cannot be corrected prior to hitting your hard deck (typically around 2,000-2,500 feet), you should cut away your main canopy and deploy your reserve.  Any time above that altitude you can atempt to clear your main.  I dont know what altitude these guys were jumping from but it was most likely done from around 10k feet and could have had time to try to clear the main.  We used to have several minutes to clear a fouled chute when we were doing HALOs from 25k!  From 10k you got around 30 seconds before you discard your main and deploy your reserve. You may also have a AAD or a RSL that can save your bacon... 😁 BTW I have a pair of green feet tattooed on my ass if that tells you anything....

Tactical jumps can be done down to 300m with full package, and the procedure is fly or not fly, pull reserve if not within 3 sec. A streamer gives you a bit more time. With full drop speed you got more than 10 sec to impact without anything out. Tactical jumps is done with round parachutes. 
 

This jump seems to be from helicopter, and higher up. The parachute malfunction, is a round canopy and he got plenty altitude, and if not flying after 5 sec, procedure is cutaway, and pull reserve. Standard procedure 

 

I know Russians even have done lower, and maybe some special troops in war can be dropped as low as possible to minimize exposure to enemy. 
 

just googled and checked 150m is not unusual. Norway have 300m for exercise 

[Gottfrid]

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

You got two dislikes for this obviously comment, fantastic

Yeah, and 5 likes, but why bother about that?

[Hummin]

14 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Yeah, and 5 likes, but why bother about that?

Even simple true statements gets dislikes, no matter what it is 

 

It does something to the forum dynamics. It can trigger to stop activity or trigger to become a full lunatic troll, and everything between.  So who cares really, only those who gives them obviously. Seems important to them, expressing their feelings. 

[Grumpy one]

On 5/21/2025 at 9:19 AM, Tom89 said:

More stories like this and fewer about ladyboy brawls in Pattaya. 

How about a story of a ladyboy clasping a gold necklace jumping from a plane minus a chute 

[Jimjim1]

On 5/22/2025 at 9:42 AM, Baba Naba said:

RUBBISH! I wanted to see this guys slick moves of his saving his own ass! 

                    But thanks for quoting me anyways Kevin.... 

RUBBISH, your comment was directed at the guy crashing to the ground and your disappointment at not seeing it,  don’t believe your lame excuse and I don’t think many others do either 

[radiochaser]

22 hours ago, Baba Naba said:

OK RC, you are not talking to some dirty, rotten, stinking "Leg" here.  If the malfunction cannot be corrected prior to hitting your hard deck (typically around 2,000-2,500 feet), you should cut away your main canopy and deploy your reserve.  Any time above that altitude you can atempt to clear your main.  I dont know what altitude these guys were jumping from but it was most likely done from around 10k feet and could have had time to try to clear the main.  We used to have several minutes to clear a fouled chute when we were doing HALOs from 25k!  From 10k you got around 30 seconds before you discard your main and deploy your reserve. You may also have a AAD or a RSL that can save your bacon... 😁 BTW I have a pair of green feet tattooed on my ass if that tells you anything....

You will have to pardon me.  I have only had five jumps.  I think that was the minimum required to stay in the 36th Airborne Brigade of the Texas National Guard back in 1979.   My expertise, from active duty,  was limited to radio morse code nets, high frequency direction finding of emitters, using short, medium, and long range radio direction finding equipment,  radio teletype communications, setting up associated equipment for fixed use, setting up and running radio communication nets,  and operating a RATT rig in a jeep when with the 36th.   I was also with several other Army Reserve units and the California National Guard, working in the signal platoons of each unit.

 

Other than the 36th, my closest contacts with airborne qualified personnel were the personnel with 403rd RR SOD in Vietnam and my Detachment Commander who was with the 403rd working with MAC-SOG then was pulled out of Laos to replace the previous Det Commander who was deemed incompetent.   The 36th may have taught us about cutting away the main, but I all I remember was get the reserve out as soon as possible.   I did talk to a Special Forces Master Sargent one time on a flight.   He answered all the questions I had about HALO and HAHO (high altitude high opening?).   He was a nice guy to talk too.   If my information is incorrect, by all means correct it.

 

I know nothing about green feet on buttocks.  I do remember that I told a jump master I wanted to be last man out and he had permission to kick my ass out of the the C141.  Does that count?  I think that Air Force Sargent really enjoyed that.   It was my last jump before I moved to California at the urging of my sister who lived there, which in retrospect was a bad decision.  But that is a personal problem I guess.  

[radiochaser]

On 5/22/2025 at 4:48 PM, radiochaser said:

I don't think you would have seen moves in that video.   The jumpers look to be pretty high up, much higher than the three jumps I made from helicopters, which was at 1200 feet (366 meters) above ground.    The jumps I made from a C141 and a C130 were, I think, over 2000 feet, possibly 2500. 

 

As someone else posted, you don't mess around with the main chute if it does not deploy because you don't have time to.  You immediately go to opening the reserve, grab it, and throw it away from you.   

 

 

I think Baba Naba may be the man to listen to about jumping.  His C.V. is a lot more extensive than my 5 jumps with a National Guard unit.

[Baba Naba]

23 hours ago, Hummin said:

procedure is cutaway, and pull reserve. Standard procedure 

Thank you!!! 

[Baba Naba]

1 hour ago, radiochaser said:

HAHO (high altitude high opening?)

Correct.  FYI I am a 100% P&T disabled USAF Veteran 1970-1974 

I will drop my trow if you drop and give me 50.

https://afspecialwarfare.com/jolly-green-feet-tattoo/

[radiochaser]

20 hours ago, Baba Naba said:

Correct.  FYI I am a 100% P&T disabled USAF Veteran 1970-1974 

I will drop my trow if you drop and give me 50.

https://afspecialwarfare.com/jolly-green-feet-tattoo/

I will be damned if I give you 50!   I used to be an assistant drill instructor in the reserves for two years.   😁

 

Unless you are a lady with a good looking butt, I don't want to see it.   Got enough of that in basic, 11 months advanced training, 20 months in VN, and 7 months in Thailand.   Oh, the horror, the horror!  😖

 

What is P&T?   Is that related to jumping out of aircraft?