Almost.....the overall density of the helium ballon, plus equipment, is less than the density of the surrounding air.....so the more dense air does push it up due to the slight pressure differential that exists between the top and bottom of the ballon plus kit.
I don't they are as rare as you paint, mike.
I have personally witnessed dozens of such attacks over the years.
Just because they don't make the papers or they haven't happened to AN members in 30/40 years of living here doesn't mean they don't happen!
No, there is no "equal and opposite force." Both the jumper and the Earth exert a force of attraction, but the Earth, with more mass, exerts a stronger force, so the jumper is drawn toward it. If the jumper had more mass than the Earth, the Earth would be drawn toward the jumper. That's my understanding of the force that we call "gravity."
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