Skydiver cheats death after jump goes wrong

A SKYDIVER was critically ill in hospital last night after falling more than 3,000 feet when his parachute failed to open properly. Craig Paton, 26, hit the ground at more than 40mph when his first ever skydive went tragically wrong.

After his main parachute malfunctioned, he fell to the ground in just 60 seconds, when a normal descent from 3,200ft should take four minutes.

Mr Paton landed on a lush grass embankment which cushioned his fall, missing a concrete road and certain death by only a few feet.

Although he suffered not a single broken bone, he remained in a drug-induced coma in intensive care at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary last night with internal bleeding in his chest.

Mr Paton's mother, Marion, and sister, Dawn, 21, were at his bedside last night where his condition was described as "serious but stable".

Speaking from his Kilmarnock home, his father, John, said last night: "Quite honestly he shouldn't really be here."

Mr Paton, who is single, joined work colleagues for the charity jump on Saturday when another man pulled out. After a day of training at Strathallan Airfield, near Auchterarder, he leapt from a Cessna light aircraft in a static line jump, a technique used for beginners.

Two people had already jumped out of the aircraft without problems as it circled over the Perthshire airfield.

But when he jumped out a few seconds later, the jumpmaster noticed immediately that there was a serious problem.

The parachute malfunction meant Mr Paton began falling so fast he overtook his friends, who were enjoying a controlled descent.

As he came within a few hundred feet of the ground, the stricken jumper tried to release the back-up parachute which would save his life. But it became entangled in the first parachute and the man was still travelling at 40 miles per hour when he ploughed into the ground.

The plane, flown by Skydive Strathallan owner Kieran Brady, immediately headed back to the runway to summon help.

Despite the massive impact, Mr Paton was conscious when rescuers reached him. Suffeirng severe chest injuries, he was rushed to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee by the specialist trauma team. He was later transferred to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Mr Paton's father, John, 52, who runs a newsagent and dairy business with his only son, told The Scotsman: "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 added: "The police have told us that 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.

"They are keeping him doped up to make sure he does not move about too much while they try and find out what is causing the bleeding in his chest.

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

Tayside Police and the British Parachute Association confirmed yesterday they are investigating the cause of the accident.

A police spokesman said: "We were called to Strathallan Airfield at 7.30pm because of an accident involving a parachutist.

"Inquiries are still ongoing into the incident, but it sounds asif he was pretty lucky to survive the fall."

Mr Brady, of Skydive Strathallan, said the parachute which malfunctioned had been used safely on numerous previous occasions. He added that such problems are "very rare".