Skydiver plunges 7600 metres without a chute in world first
A fearless pioneer has done a world first - jumping from a plane 7600 metres above the ground without a parachute.
He landed in a large net suspended in the air, but only just.
Daredevil American skydiver Luke Aikins leapt from the plane and landed safely in a net in the California desert in a live television broadcast dubbed "Heaven Sent" on Saturday local time.
The married 42-year-old, third-generation skydiver, who has made about 18,000 jumps in his 25-year career, made the harrowing leap with a team - but he was the only one without a chute or wingsuit.
Organisers would only describe the large net as a "slide".
"I'm going to do something that's definitely out there and most people in the world will think is crazy," Aikins said in the lead up to the stunt.
Aikins, who said it will be a world record for jumping without a parachute, previously worked with Felix Baumgartner on the Austrian daredevil's 2012 record skydive which started 38km above Earth.
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