A WOMAN who did a skydive to “feel alive again”;; has shared the terrifying moment she thought she was going to die when her parachute failed.
Nicky Harty decided to take on the challenge to raise money for a domestic abuse , and signed up with the Irish Parachute Club for the jump.
But it was when she was falling through the sky and felt her instructor scrabbling around behind her that Nicky realised something had gone wrong.
In a video on her TikTok page, Nicky shared her shocking story, as she said that at first she was completely oblivious to what was happening, and just enjoying the feeling of “flying”;; through the air from a height of 15,000ft.
However, when her instructor – who had been chatty and reassuring up until that point – went silent and she started to feel the “anxious tension”;; that she realised there was a problem.
“He then began to feel my hooks and that’s when I knew, something is happening right now,”;; Nicky told
I’m just grateful to be alive
Nicky Harty
“I knew in my gut, and the first thought that came to mind was ‘Nothing is going to keep me up in the sky right now, not even gravity. I am going to fall to my death’.”;;
While she was panicking internally, Nicky knew that she had to keep quiet and let her instructor do what he was trained to do.
She didn’t find out what that was until after the jump, but knows now that he was cutting the first parachute as it was tangled and had failed to open.
His actions then allowed the second, emergency, parachute to open, meaning they were able to still land safely – although the instructor did warn Nicky it was likely to be a bumpy landing.
And it wasn’t until after they landed that Nicky was told that the “emergency reserve parachute”;; had been released.
She then spoke to her family and explained just how close she’d come to having a tragic accident on the jump.
“They were distraught,”;; Nicky said.
“They told me to never do such a thing again.”;;
Nicky since been able to watch back the footage – which her instructor caught on his camera – and is still struggling to come to terms with just how close she came to death.
“WhenIsayIamtraumatisedthelasttwodays,youhavenoidea,”;; she said in the TikTok video.
Before adding to : “The last few days, I’ve been a shell in my body.
“I have knots in my stomach and my head feels heavy.
“My legs have gone from under me whilst walking because of trauma and shock.
“I will come out stronger but for now it’s just hard to adjust to what’s happened.
“I’m just grateful to be alive”;;.
