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Key Points

Director Apoorva Lakhia recently revealed his near-fatal skydiving mishap in Thailand. His main parachute malfunctioned mid-air, forcing him to deploy a backup that wasn't weight-adjusted. Despite the terrifying freefall, he maintained composure thanks to prior training. The incident left him with a leg injury, but he made a full recovery.

Key Points: Apoorva Lakhia Recalls Terrifying Parachute Failure During Skydiving

  • Lakhia recounts parachute failure during Thailand skydive
  • Explains backup parachute weight mismatch worsened fall
  • Credits training for keeping calm in crisis
  • Suffered leg injury but recovered fully
2 min read

Apoorva Lakhia recollects crash landing after his parachute failed to deploy

Director Apoorva Lakhia shares his harrowing skydiving accident in Thailand when his parachute malfunctioned mid-air.

"I would have f****** gone. But I didn’t panic because we’ve been taught not to panic. – Apoorva Lakhia"

Mumbai, July 6

Director Apoorva Lakhia, who is known for films like ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala’, ‘Haseena Parkar’ and others, once had a nasty fall during his skydiving adventure.

The director recently appeared on the latest episode of Cyrus Broacha’s podcast, and shared the story when his parachute failed to deploy resulting in an injury to his leg.

He said, “So this was in Thailand. What happened was that when you jump off from 14,000 or 16,000 feet and the parachute opens, you have to do a test here. So you have these dongles on both sides, which is like a steering wheel. So first you do left, pull, it turns left. Then you do a right pull, it turns right. Then you do a break where the hood stands. But when I did the left pull, the dongle came out in my hand. So there was no way for me to land”.

He further mentioned, “I would have f****** gone. But I didn't panic because we've been taught not to panic. Plan B is you let go of the original parachute and you take out your reserve. But the problem is that your parachute, which is the original one, is decided on your weight. At that time, I was 100 kgs. So the weight of my parachute was 280 kgs. But the one which was in the spare parachute was like 100 kgs. So I was falling that much faster because my original parachute was as per my weight. Now the parachute, which is the spare parachute, was exactly my weight. So I was falling that much faster. So I fell really fast and I fell onto the ground”.

The director ended with an injured foot but soon recovered.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Shreya B
As someone who loves skydiving, this gave me chills! The weight difference between main and reserve parachutes is a serious safety concern. Maybe authorities should make stricter regulations for adventure tourism operators abroad.
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Aman W
Respect to Apoorva for keeping calm in such a terrifying situation! Most people would panic. But seriously, why was the reserve parachute not matching his weight? This seems like gross negligence by the skydiving company.
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Priyanka N
While the story is thrilling, I hope this doesn't discourage people from trying adventure sports. Just shows we need to be extra careful when choosing operators and checking equipment. Safety first always!
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Varun X
This is exactly why I stick to safer hobbies like cricket! 😅 But seriously, hats off to his survival instincts. Maybe he should make a movie based on this experience - would be more thrilling than any action sequence!
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Nisha Z
The company should be held accountable for this. In India, we often compromise on safety standards, but when Indians go abroad, we expect better. Hope Apoorva took legal action against them.
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David E
As an adventure sports instructor, this story highlights several red flags. The reserve chute should always be properly sized. Also, the dongle failure suggests poor maintenance. Always check operator certifications before jumping!

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