Plunge skydiver on the mend

A NOVICE skydiver who fell 3,200ft after his parachute failed to open properly is back at home and expected to make a full recovery.

Craig Paton, 26, was being cared for by his family in Kilmarnock last night, less than three weeks after cheating death when he hit the ground at more than 40mph.

Mr Paton took the place of a friend at the last minute to make his first skydive jump from Strathallan airfield, near Auchterarder in Perthshire, on 8 April.

His descent took a quarter of the normal four minutes after his main parachute malfunctioned.

Mr Paton's fall was cushioned by landing on a grass embankment, missing a concrete road yards away that would have meant certain death.

He escaped without a single broken bone, and tried to walk to an ambulance after remaining conscious after hitting the ground.

Last night, Mr Paton's girlfriend, Diane Giels, 21, said she was delighted that he was back home after being discharged from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Monday.

She said: "He is getting there, and a full recovery is guaranteed. He is able to walk about, but has not talked about his experience."

Mr Paton was initially treated in intensive care for internal bleeding before being transferred to another ward in the hospital during his two-week stay.

His terrifying jump from a Cessna light aircraft had followed several hours of skydive training at the airfield.

He fell past two others in the group who had jumped before him after a static line that should have opened his parachute automatically failed to work.

Just a few hundred feet from the ground, he tried to open his back-up parachute, but it became entangled in the first parachute.

Mr Paton runs a newsagent and milk delivery business with his father, John, 52, in Kilmarnock. However, It is not known when he will be able to return to work.

His father said after the accident that it was a miracle he had survived.

He said: "Quite honestly, he shouldn't really be here. He only went up because someone had dropped out and he said he would go and do it for the fun. It was the first time he had ever done a jump.

"He landed on the banking of a road which sits higher than a grass area and then slid or rolled down the banking. If he had hit the road he would not be here.

"After he landed, Craig was wanting to sit up and walk out of the field. He had to be restrained because he wanted to get up and walk over to the ambulance."

Mr Paton was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for emergency treatment before being transferred to Edinburgh.

His father added: "Craig does weights and runs a lot and the doctors said that is one of the factors which has saved him.

"He didn't smoke so his lungs are in great condition and he was always jogging or riding his mountain bike."

An investigation into the accident has been launched by the British Parachute Association.

Kieran Brady, owner of Skydive Strathallan, who piloted the plane involved, said the parachute that had malfunctioned had been used on numerous previous occasions and that such problems were very rare.