The Big AL Podcast
The Big AL Podcast
The Man Who Survived a 530 FT Fall With No Parachute!!
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, Big Al talks with Mathew Penny a B.A.S.E. jumper who managed to survive the unthinkable. Mathew, explains the disciplines involved in B.A.S.E and tells the story of how he managed to survive a jump where his parachute did not deploy due to an entanglement of the bridle. This sent him plummeting towards the ground at near terminal velocity. But somehow he survived the impact. Matt reflects on how this event has changed the way he thinks of life and lives for today. Mathew is the only person I can think of who has fallen from this sort of height and actually lived to tell the tale!
Most podcasts talk about one topic. On this one, we talk about six hundred and thirty-eight billion four hundred and fifty two million two hundred and thirteen thousand four hundred and six topics. And when we say big, we're talking about his mouth. Welcome to the big and owl podcast. If it's happening in the world or happening in your life, he's talking about it. Talking about it. Guaranteed to be fun, entertaining, thought-provoking, and for damn sure. Loud. Let's do it. This is the big owl podcast. And now the man in the middle of the low.
SPEAKER_01So welcome to the Big Owl Podcast. We are currently in the middle of Switzerland in a place called Stechelberg, which is in Lauterbrunnen and the sub-district of Interleichen. And uh we've come out on a trip and I've bumped into a good friend and well somebody has got to tell a bit of a story, really. And if you're joining us on this podcast and you might have seen the tile and stuff, you're probably wondering what a lot of it is involving. But we'll get to that bit. But I just want to tell the listeners about the surroundings that we've got at the moment. We're currently sat in a car park waiting for our friend Nick Davison to go do um a tracking jump in the valley, which is called the Low Ultimate. He's uh he's gone off. Me and uh the guest here have got a can of beer and we're just sitting here waiting. We thought it'd be a good chance to actually talk about. Well, I don't know whether it would be a slight it is definitely a mishap, but it's definitely a life learning experience. I'm gonna introduce my guest now, his name's Matt Penny. So tell us a bit about yourself, Matt. I'm Matt Penny.
SPEAKER_02Uh I live in Ripon, North Yorkshire. Live quite a simple life on a farm in a cottage, and I'm surrounded by fields. Yeah, so what do you what do you do for your day job? I own my own construction company. Yeah, you can give them a shout out if you want.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, uh Ripon Building Services. Yeah, you've done I've seen some of the work you've done, and it's really it's really impressive. You you're a crafter, yeah. So uh so yeah, so I mean, what brings you to this sort of place? What's what's the background that really makes you think about coming to Switzerland and doing stuff like what we've been doing the last couple of days?
SPEAKER_02It's a beautiful place, and I've been out with you guys before, yeah, and it's nice to have good friends around you, and uh it's just an amazing place. It is, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01I mean you sat in the sun, in the the what we call the mecca, I think, of of I don't know, cliff base jumping, in at least in our hemisphere anyway. But to even just to come and watch, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02It's quite yeah, every every time I come here, I go home with a saw next I'm just looking up at the sheer beauty all the time. So so obviously a skydiver. Yep. Yeah, so how long you've been skydiving for? Uh for five years now. Five years, and what got you into that? Um I went to the tunnel at Manchester for a works due, so I treated all my employees to a um indoor skydive, and from then on I kind of yeah, wanted to see what it was like.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so some of the listeners here will probably probably be non-jumpers as well. So I'll try and give a bit of a explanation of obviously skydive free fall uh stuff like that. But just to give it for the skydiver that might be listening, is let's talk about your jump numbers. I mean, it doesn't mean a lot, we've talked a lot with other skydivers about it. It's not necessarily the man with the most jumps is the most experienced. But where would you put yourself in? Experience.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'd I mean I've done just over 700 jumps now, and uh I think every jump you're always learning. Yeah, you're continuously learning.
SPEAKER_01I'd like to agree with you though, definitely.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, whether you've done a thousand or not, there's different different weathers you can jump in, uh different people you jump with as well. It's a big factor, I think.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. And so what sort of discipline would we find you on a DZ doing? Is it tracking, uh free fly? What's the primary?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'd I'd be doing free fly uh because it's to me it's the extreme um bit of skydiving rather than doing formation, which I kind of don't like. Yeah, okay. And the favourite colour yellow, I mean.
SPEAKER_01Tell us a bit about the backstory of that.
SPEAKER_02So the backstory of that is I found a skydiving rig on eBay. Um, eBay is something you kind of steer off from. Yeah. From uh because it's either usually stolen or um you know not correct, but I I found a rig for two and a half thousand and it had five or six jumps on it. Oh, right, yeah, and it was 20 years old, and the canopy was yellow, and since then it's been yellow all the way. Yeah, because that canopy saves my life every time I jump.
SPEAKER_01That's it, that's it. That's a great way of thinking about it. So, you know, I mean, obviously we want to get to the point, but you have done base jumping. Yes. So, so what was the point of where you thought, I think I'm gonna go and give base jumping a go? Did you go paragliding first, or did you go, no, I think this is where I want to go? What was the actual point in your skydiving career which made that decision for you?
SPEAKER_02It was curiosity to see how much adrenaline rush it gives you, how much buzz. Um, I like the self-discipline from base jumping, and there's no um there's no like line checking. Yeah, there's no there's no rules. Um, however, you know, a lot of people think bass jumpers uh you know yeeha. Yeah. Um however, we're not, um we're kind of very self-disciplined. Yeah. Um, you know, it's all it's all thought out and it's very careful.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, like the first time I came here, um, I wrote an article actually, funnily enough, about it because it was quite eerie because people online see YouTube videos and stuff like that with the music playing, people throwing themselves off cliffs, and it looks spectacular. But when you actually come out with a group of bass jumpers, it is self-regulated, and everyone is uh all excited, all taking, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do that. But when it actually comes down to packing and everything, it's a self-discipline. So it's what I called in my article was like the calm before the storm, it's the preparation for that adrenaline rush. And once you get into that, would you agree with me with that? 100%. So there's got to be a bit of sensibility in the fact before we're gonna do a base jump, it's that calm. And I I must admit, I'd never experienced anything like that until I'd actually come here with Nick and seen the lads all really excited to go jump. They we turned up, they went up to the dumpster up the road here, and on we just got off the plane, and all the way up the valley, they were just rabbiting on, oh yeah, do this, I've got to do this, and then oh well, I've just got to pack and everything. And I went in the place and they were all packing, and it was like eerily quiet. Um, and you've experienced this being a base jumper yourself and doing it, is there it's weird when I went up to uh high ultimate and we're all there, and all the banters still going, and everyone's talking about what they're gonna do, and then being left there, and I'm not a jumper, and walking back off the jump, that is so eerie because, like I explained to people, is that you don't know it takes you 20 minutes back down the lift to know is everyone alright? Yeah, you know, you're not gonna start belling people up on the landing area to check, but you just make your way down and everyone's smiling, and but you're the late arriver to the party, you don't see the especially these ones here, you don't see the parachute open.
SPEAKER_03No.
SPEAKER_01Um so so that got you into it, and then obviously, did you did you go on a base course or at the very beginning?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I went to a place in the UK we jumped off a certain object. Um so that was for me uh dipping my toes in the water to see if see if I wanted to base jump. Um I did that first base jump and I just loved it.
SPEAKER_01So on the ground it was like let's get repacked and let's go again. Yeah, yeah. I mean I I can we can relate to that in skydiving because my first skydive, um which I did, um I basically come round and said, Can we go? You know, let's get going again. So we started base jumping and um we're we're sort of loving it. So we're doing a lot in the UK.
SPEAKER_02Uh no, my first one was in the UK, that was uh you know dipping my toes in to see if it see if I liked it, and then um I went out to the south of France and um did 22 jumps right in a week. Yeah, and that that was with um a very experienced guy who I respect a lot, yeah, and he's an older guy, and I respect older people because they've got a little bit more knowledge.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, you touch on respect there. Again, going back to that you know, we're not all hooligans base jumping, in the base jumping world, a respect is earned, yeah, and it is amazing how much you see people in pubs having a great time at night, but that respect still holds itself. Yeah. I've seen incidents, and you may have seen incidents online as well, where people are not reprimanded, but pulled up on maybe malpractice at the site of a an exit point or whatever. But people take it really well because if it is a respected member of the community with a with a high experience, it's a it's a well, like we've just seen it there, you know, um, you know, local knowledge, and it and in the actual industry and sport of of base jumping, if you can't take or accept that some people need to be respected in it, it's not a sport for you. No, no, no, no, not at all. So you went there, did the 20 jumps, and sort of enjoyed it, come home. Yep, absolutely thrilled, thrilled to bits. And so when you when you come home, did you did you just sort of start soldiering off on your own, or was it sort of a thing where you thought, well, no, I need to find a sort of jump buddy that can bring us on?
SPEAKER_02Um the when I first got back, I went to Manchester and wanted to jump off a building. Okay. Um I walked back down. Right, okay, yeah. Well, yeah, because I I didn't feel right. And um then I went out with a good friend um Nick Davison and um we did some jumps in the Peak district, yeah, some quite low ones, and I found that more natural for me, rather than you know, skimming up an antenna. Yeah, yeah, you're on you're on a you're on a you're in the countryside, yeah. And then after that I went to the lake district with some other lads, um, another good bunch of friends that I met on the course, and um again it was a beautiful walk up the mountain, to a ledge, and jump off. Yeah, and a nice canopy ride down, and for me it's it's a bit more organic.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay. Yeah, so talking canopy rides as well, which which one is it? Is it the free fall or is the canopy ride, or would you agree and say it's both that you do it for? I think it's when the canopy opens.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah, that feeling you know, you know you've gonna done a good job packing, um your body position is correct, the conditions are correct, and it's gone right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because I mean we can talk about what we've been doing this week. I mean, we've been jumping out of the helicopter at the top of the Iger. We're using skydiving rigs, so you know, again, to sort of calm the nerves, we have it's been banded around the van. Uh it's a skydive, it's a skydive with boundaries and um calculated risks, but the euphoria when we're down is something that I personally can say I've never experienced on a DZ, and I'm not knocking any DZs around the UK or wherever I've been. It's different because you know you have achieved something that you've had to do. For me, it's personally regulated. Yeah, you know, we're not got the the the check-in, the signing, we're we're checking ourselves and checking each other. There is no no rules. Oh, you must sign somebody on the on the flight line, and we're doing it, but the sense of achievement is a bit James Bondish, isn't it? Yeah. Would you say that when you you got that sort of feeling with base jumping, is that when you got down, parachutes opened, it's an achievement.
SPEAKER_02I've I've gone up there, got myself ready, and yeah, and I think it's the it's it's been in a we're a team as well. You know, it is, it's camaraderie, isn't it? Exactly that definitely I'm not educated enough to uh give you that word. No, no, no. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01No, it is, it's definitely camaraderie, and and yeah, I mean, yeah, we are a bit yee-high about it. You know, when we've when everyone's safe on the ground, we can all have a laugh and crack them open a beer and sit and wait for the next uh next time we're gonna do it. So we're base jumping and we've been doing a bit of skydiving, we're talking about the thrill of that. I just want to sort of touch on now, really, in this part of the chat and the podcast, is obviously on and off, you're skydiving in between base jumping as well. Yes. I'm trying to think of currency numbers. We're talking currency up to the trip, the the the actual trip we're gonna talk about.
SPEAKER_02Um up to the trip, um, we're gonna talk about I was 100% current. Um, I was jumping every week if I could get a day off work in the week. Okay, canopy size were jumping. Um canopy size, um at the at that time it was a 150.
SPEAKER_01150, quite confident with it, no issues. No, no, quite happy. Yeah, you know, go to the DZ, do six to seven in a day. Found found it easy, found it easy. Yeah, so you're up at the currency level, there's nothing nothing there as well. Um, and then obviously you go on this base trip, a training camp, or what where where was it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it was uh again in the south of France with the with the with the same uh mentor I did my first course with, and I what we kind of do is we tag along with them guys, yeah, and um just go and enjoy it. And I enjoy watching people learn as well. So, whereabouts were we in France?
SPEAKER_01Milau. Oh Milau. So so we're in Milau, obviously flights from the UK. Did you join up at the in the in the airport or did you all meet when you got to?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we all meet at Bristol Airport, all go out together.
SPEAKER_01Go out together, so camaraderie starts building at that point. And would you would you say, like we were talking earlier as well, that that camaraderie, because it's all madness at that point because we're all buzzing that we're gonna do that. So and then the sensibility when you get to Milau, it all sort of starts to kick in. Talking about that trip then, how long was that trip supposed to be?
SPEAKER_02The trip was Mother's Day last year, yeah. So that would have been March, I believe, 2024. Yes, yeah, yeah. Um so just over a year ago. The course I was jumping on was for seven days. Seven days, so seven days planned jumping trip. How many people were there with you? In the whole group, uh including the students, I think there was six or seven.
SPEAKER_01So would six to seven of you all go to do the jump together?
SPEAKER_02Yes. So we'd all we'd all bimble up to the exit. Obviously, before that, we've checked, checked, and checked again, yeah, packed our rigs, checked each other. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01So in in the seven days, which day did the incident take place? It was on the third day. Third day, okay. So I'd like to talk a little bit about the run-up to that day and sort of how would day one and two would you say, with everything, openings, how you felt, um, you know, your actual demeanour.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the the jumps I did on the first two days, everything went perfect. I was on a new canopy, I'd downsized to a 220 Hajouk two, um, and I was kind of finding my way with that canopy, and I I really enjoyed it because it was fast, yeah, responsive, it opened really quick.
SPEAKER_01So are these flat stove jumps or a bit of mixture of everything? Uh mixture of everything. You're not doing rollovers or anything like that. These are these are base pack jobs. Yeah, um, and and I mean we can talk a little bit, but now we're talking about packing, is base pack jobs, but it's not a 15-minute pack job on a DZ. No, no, no, discipline straight away from that, and you know, we talked a little bit about packing on this on this trip. It's the discipline in the packing. So, anyone listening who's a non-skydiver, it's not stuffing a bed sheet in a paper bag. Oh god, no. No, no, there's a lot of time that goes into it. These lads will go out, and how many jumps a day do you reckon you were doing?
SPEAKER_02If the weather's right, we would do three, possibly four. Three.
SPEAKER_01So just to give that impression, these lads aren't getting up at 11 o'clock, guys. They're getting up at seven o'clock in the morning, jump for four o'clock in the morning. Four o'clock in the morning, yeah. Because there's a little bit of a travel to the exit point, yeah. So, you know, and then it's back, and everyone has to pack, and then you'll have breakfast, and and it this this takes time, it's not what you'd see at a skydiving uh venue where it packing is everything in base jumping because you've only got one parachute, there is no reserve, and even though technology is allowing the packing and the actual way these canopies open nowadays, what we see here they're almost like zero snivel, aren't they? They're just like shh and they open.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, I mean, I'm no I'm no technology guy, but you know, I can definitely see the the the pike's very like a reserve which you'd have in a skydiving rig. Yeah. Um so the they're designed to open and open on heading. On heading, yes.
SPEAKER_01But very little minor details in the packing can make a difference between a 90 left, right, 180 Swiss. When people ask me who non-skydivers, what you pack your own parachute, and I'm like, yes, I do. And when I started packing my own parachute, and I I had mentors show me how to pack, and I watched a video, and I watched a particular video, and it was and the first 30 seconds of the video was just do it. Parachutes are designed to open, and then a little bit of a caveat, and you have got a reserve. Now, I'm not sounding cynical or joking, and oh, I've got a reserve, so I'll be alright, but just to get over that barrier of oh, I've just packed my own parachute, I have got a reserve that is packed by a professional, so I've got a second chance, as we'll call it. Base jumping, ladies and gentlemen, at home. There is one parachute, but it is packed in a different manner, like you say, like a reserve, and uh with it a container where the container's on your back, so there's no D-bag, it just comes straight off your back, and yeah, yeah, yeah. So D-bag is a deployment bag. Normally, on a skydiving rig, we put the whole canopy into like a black bag. You may have seen it on YouTube videos, uh, it goes all the way up, lines come out, and then the parachute comes out. In a base rig, there is no D-bag. So imagine a satchel on the on your back, and it the satchel opens, and there is the parachute. The parachute then comes out and it's gotta come out in the right order, it's very critical. But these canopies are designed for that, so yeah. So I just wanted to touch on packing because with you know, so day one and two is going great. I'd like to talk about day two evening. Can we can we go back to parachute?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, go back to parachute.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So the the difference between the packing of the base canopy and a skydiving canopy. Yeah, a skydiving canopy can take up to 500 foot to open. Yes. Uh with base, we've got 200 foot to open. So that's good way of putting it. Sometimes as low as 90 foot to open.
SPEAKER_01Yes, depending on the slider which comes down the line, which actually slows the opening down. I was at a DZ the other day and they were talking a little bit about, oh, do you pack your own parachutes and blah blah blah? And somebody said, Oh, well, oh, do you make sure it's open? We actually pack parachutes, ladies and gentlemen, to slow down the opening. Yeah, you know, I mean, I'm not talking base, yeah, but but that slider, we do not want that parachute going kablam in parachuting because that hurts your back, you know, especially at full terminal, head down, something like that. We don't want it, so we're we're packing the parachute. Shoot so it opens on heading and it and it's not hard. People laugh at that. Oh, there we go. You may have heard a crack of a canopy there. There we go, it's pink canopy there, just off. So I'd just like to talk about day two, night. Everything's going well. You're having a great time. Yep. Did you plan the jump the night before? Like, this is what I'm gonna do, and is it okay, and how do I do it? So we we we came back from the day's jumping.
SPEAKER_02Um we put a bit of music on, we all we all started packing, uh, made sure all the rigs were packed, then we went out for some food, and obviously.
SPEAKER_01Was it at that point the decision of forward roll exit? Forward roll exit, okay. Yeah, so a forward roll exit with a PCA. Is that the point in that evening then? The decision that's what I'm gonna do tomorrow, we're chatting amongst your mates.
SPEAKER_02No, uh no, I wouldn't make a decision like that while drinking. Okay, cool. Yeah, it was on the morning when I'd woke up, I'd had a cup of tea, yeah, a cigarette, and then thought about what exit I was going to do.
SPEAKER_01Okay, is that normal procedure on something like that? Um for me, yeah, but everyone, every everybody is different. For you, that was that was normal to wake up in the morning, yeah, cup of tea, cigarette, and just think, right, what's the what's the day gonna bring? You're all up in the morning.
SPEAKER_02Was it four in the morning, was it? Uh no, I'd actually gone up uh in the morning and decided not to jump because it was too windy. Okay, so my jump on that particular day was around midday and the conditions were perfect.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so self-discipline kicked in in the morning, wind was up. Do you know what? I'm gonna just hang out. So so we we I'd like the listeners to understand because we're not really into the nitty-gritty of it. People will be at home thinking base jumpers are nuts, but there we go, we're just talking to a man which we're gonna talk about that had a pretty big fall. Actually, you know, we it there is the time to call. So in the morning, you go down to the exit point, yeah? Yep, you make the call, or through a bit of help as well and discussing, because we've seen it, you see it here, don't you? People discuss things and the local knowledge in that. So, through that discussion, you make the decision. Do you know what? I'm gonna stand this one out. Yeah, go back, cup of tea, is it? Let the lads pack. Some some guys jumped.
SPEAKER_02Well, they they um some of the other lads still jumped, um, and that was that's their choice. We go back to self-discipline within the sport and and and their experience level, it dispends, you know. I mean, it's like on this trip we're on at the moment, one of the lads he weren't feeling it and he didn't jump for a day. No, that's right, which is fair enough because you that's not disrepensable.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we enjoyed we enjoy ribbing them, but I actually what I will say is that we enjoy ribbing them and winding them up, but the actual deep down feeling, and that I promise you, is on these trips, is don't get don't get led on. It's it's it's everyone's break. We're in a beautiful place. You don't have to come here and jump. No, I didn't, I came with a camera the first time I came, and I was like, I'm gonna come back here and jump because it is it's made for it, it's beautiful, and um it's absolutely great. Just gonna take a break there, and um, we'll be back very, very shortly on the Big Al podcast, and we're really gonna get into the nitty-gritty now. This is the bit you want to hear about. This is the bit where the man who fell nearly 600 feet and survived, and we're gonna talk about that. We will say he had, I would say, what you class for you skydivers out there, he landed a pilot chute, and we'll be right back on the big owl podcast right after this.
SPEAKER_00You haven't fun yet? The Big Owl Podcast. We'll be right back. Everyone, just stay right where you are, and we will be back.
SPEAKER_01Welcome back to the Big Owl Podcast, and we've been talking a little bit about base jumping, a little bit about skydiving and stuff like that. But uh just a reminder of where we are, we're in this lovely place in Switzerland called Lauterbrunnen, which is just down the road from Interlark. But it basically is just down the road, the sun is shining. Uh, what you probably the hiss you can hear in the background is a lovely. We are at the Stechelberg uh waterfall, and that's what's making the noise. Uh, and if you are a base jumper and if you've ever been to the valley, you'll know exactly where we are. We're sat in the car park waiting for a friend of ours, Nick Davison, to make his way froff from the low ultimate. He's currently uh just making his way up there, he's gonna absail in. We're talking with uh Matt Penny, uh, who's uh skydiver, base jumper. He had a bit of an incident, and I think he's probably well, he's the luckiest man I know to be alive, but we were just getting into the nitty-gritty, he'd gone on a uh trip to France to Milau, a base jumping trip, and we got to day two, uh into day three, and Matt had walked off the jump in the morning because the weather conditions weren't right. The the weather conditions weren't right for me, and I I wasn't feeling it to be fair. Yeah, okay, so so it's a bit bit a bit of both, bit of both in the morning, and we move we move into the sort of the did you feel drawn on to make that jump that day? Uh no, not at all. That was my decision. Yeah. Um no, I mean through the through the banter, because we've seen it, we've seen it here this on this trip. It's it's the fair thing to say it was your decision, yeah. And I'm not saying for one minute that somebody somebody it's somebody else's fault, and we're not getting into anything. I'm just saying that like because I must admit, it's happened to me, you know. Um, did you feel a little bit egged on or not at all? Or just thought, you know, I feel a bit better now.
SPEAKER_02On the particular jump? On the particular jump, did you actually no no? There was there was no peer pressure, right? So you'd no peer pressure. That's what sorry, that was the answer I was gonna do. Yeah, there was none of that saying if I told you to jump off a bridge, would you? Yeah, okay, yeah, cool.
SPEAKER_01No, uh so so we we we've now decided that we're we're we're gonna go and do a base jump, we're all packed, we're all ready to go, we've got the plan, and the plan is that is the key, isn't it? So you've you've you've made that plan in the morning that we're gonna do this roll over exit. We made the plan, so so that plan did not change from the morning to midday. No, okay, so that's that's that's quite a good thing because sticking with the plan, everyone says, Oh well, that happened because you didn't stick with the plan. We go out to the exit point, and uh what were the actual thoughts? Everything's okay at this point, yeah, feeling good.
SPEAKER_02Feeling it, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. No, no, it's weird to say worry, but no actual there was no doubt. No doubts. That's that's what I was asking for. No doubts. There was nothing, but there was nothing really where you were thinking I'm not sure of. Yeah, you're pretty 100%, I'm just committed, ready to go. Okay, so we go over to the exit, and ladies and gentlemen, again, this involves kitting up before you get onto the bridge. Yes, yeah, and you walk down the bridge, climb over the handrail. Were you the first guy to go? I was.
SPEAKER_02First in the group. Um, yeah, so we we're kit up under the bridge, yeah. Uh we buddy buddy check each other over and over again. Um so we all know we're good and we've done as much as we can to make the jump.
SPEAKER_01So tell us a little bit about I keep mentioning rollover exit, what does that involve?
SPEAKER_02Try and put it into perspective because these guys can't see what is it's not actually a rollover, it's basically a forward roll. Do we have to step through the bridle or is it just a normal exit? So the bridle is tucked down my body, yeah, it goes between my legs and then up my back.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so guys non-skydivers, bridle is the first thing which pulls the pins to enable the parachute to start opening. So, in a normal instance, that bridle is on our back, just above our bum, just by your cocticks there, just by your back. And basically, if it was if it was uh PCA, which means somebody's holding on to that bridle, it means that that is just going to go straight off my back, straight out, and then the pilot chute's gonna come out. Somebody's playing a lovely instrument.
SPEAKER_02A static line is where uh or a PCA um is where somebody holds your bridle, yes, and as you exit, they pull your parachute out for you. That's right, and then that that makes your parachute deploy.
SPEAKER_01This bridle, you what I'm trying to get at is I believe from what we're talking about here, you're starting with an entanglement because you have had to involve that because you're going to roll over and undo the entanglement.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes, that's if the rollover goes well, exactly of which the rollover on the exit was a good rollover. Okay, so it was a good it was a good forward roll. Exit was perfect then. If you don't forward roll, you you're you're gone. You're gonna bounce.
SPEAKER_01Yes, okay. So so we're on the exit point, we've done all our checks, the bridle is rooted correctly, yep, yeah. Um and you've got a pal holding on, yes, ready to PCA. Yep. Simple thing, look at the horizon, is it? Yes. Uh so just talk us through when we get onto that base jump exit.
SPEAKER_02What's going through your head? Thinking through the plan. So uh we step over, get on the other edge of the bridge. I'm really scared of heights. Oh, I've got white knuckles, I'm gripping onto the edge of the bridge, but um it's probably one of the reasons why I do it. Um so I'm there, um I take about five seconds just to take a few deep breaths and take it all in. Yeah. At that moment in time, nothing else matters in my life. Nothing, nothing else, nobody, there's nobody there.
SPEAKER_01When I go skydiving, jumping, parachuting, um, it's the only thing in my life, and it's not because, oh well, I have to focus and nothing else matters, it just naturally happens, and I can sort of relate to that. You don't think, well, I'm gonna have to have a zero clear head to go over that thing. It's just when your body experiences that and your brain is saying, I'm on the sold holding on white knuckle here, you just sort of think about what you're doing, you're not thinking about I've got to price that job, you know. It just naturally goes out of your brain, doesn't it? And you are tasking hand. So I mean, could you could you call that fight or flight?
SPEAKER_02Uh no, because I I I take that time to relax into it and process what's going off, and I've already pre-processed what's going to be happening during the jump. However, for me, it's just a surreal experience, and it's just I take time to relax, and then within that five seconds, at the end of that five seconds, I'm not scared of them heights because I'm there, I'm committed.
SPEAKER_01So, what do we do? Do we count ourselves down? You know, five. I I see the base jumpers all the time. It's all in the count. It's it's it that is the point when you have committed, when you start that countdown. I this is somebody who hasn't base jumped that I'm telling you this because I see it, I see people, and they um once that count's happened, it's like a missile launch. Yeah, it the countdown has started. You me as an onlooker don't say anything unless there is something horrendously wrong. So, again, on the particular day, white knuckles holding onto the banister, yep, start the countdown. Do you go on three or five, four, three, two, one? The normal procedure.
SPEAKER_02So, within the five seconds, my white knuckles have started to go back to normal. I'm feeling my circulation in my fingers. Yeah, and then um we the reason why we do the countdown is to tell the guy that's doing the PCA, the static line, that we're ready and we give him a countdown. So we'll say three, two, one, whatever you say after the one, he knows you that that is up to you. Sometimes I use a swear word or um same old shit, different days. Yeah, that's true. Shank is one of my favourite films, right?
SPEAKER_01Okay, uh, and it just makes that's I'm going, I'm going, yeah, yeah, that's it. Okay, on the particular jump, everything's going well at that point. Yes. Yeah. We we exit, we step off, and we we go and we and everything's going right. So at the point, the the actual role was executed absolutely perfectly fine.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So what tell tell tell us now what actually happened.
SPEAKER_02Um the bridge is actually 500, I think it's about 510 foot. Okay, so 510 foot. And I will have that 10 foot. It's not a few. Yes, yeah, I think you deserve it.
SPEAKER_01It's not 500 foot, I think I deserve that 10 foot. You do deserve that 10 foot. So so we're on there. So I'm just trying to put it in perspective. Is that 500? I I you know, it's badged as the the the man who fell 510 foot and survived. And you did, you did. I've seen the video, and I don't want to go on about the video, but it's basically so we go off, we do this this roll exit.
SPEAKER_02What went wrong? Um, so I uh I did the countdown, um, I did the forward roll. Um, that was brilliant. I did the forward roll, then opened my legs up wide. Um, then my bridle got caught in uh my chin cup on my helmet, so it didn't allow the uh no, sorry, the the pins did release, but I I was um by by the time the canopy was trying to open and snivelling, um we've kind of got from from 500 foot, we've got about six seconds before we hit the ground.
SPEAKER_01And so would we in it for the skydivers listening, would you could qualif quite quantify that as a as like a bit like a horseshoe malfunction? We've got the bridle round our chin cup, we've got a bit of parachute coming out, but what's stopping the parachute from coming out of the D bag or our backpack is the chin cup.
SPEAKER_02That's I I would say within that time, um, when I saw um the bridle caught in my chin strap, I was trying everything within my power within that time to correct it. And um I'm sorry to say that I didn't it's such a short time, and it did it does kind of go in slow motion, um, but it's going really fast as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, cut it is, cut it is, yeah. So you're trying to clear this, yeah. Um and at no point where you didn't know what happened, it you you can see it in front of your eyes. I wouldn't like to go into square feet of canopy, but I would like to say to people, I don't think there was any canopy out from what I've seen. Yes, there was, somebody'd argued, but you say it landing a pilot chute. I I I genuinely I'd like to agree with you. I mean, I would say, would you have two, three cells out?
SPEAKER_02I'd I'd say I got at least one cell out.
SPEAKER_01One cell out, but it wasn't a canopy, it was I know it was like it was like as if you had a carrier bag above your head.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and uh but I think there was one cell open at one side because I started spinning like a leaf. Um, and anything helps to slow you down. Body position. But you're working to try and free the entanglement at this point. I mean with within skydiving, we we pull at three and a half thousand foot, you've got you've got another good minute, so you mess out.
SPEAKER_01I can imagine you probably weren't even thinking the ground's coming, you're thinking sort it out, sort it out, sort it out. You know, and I'm not gonna ask a man that seen that point what what you were thinking because what you were thinking was, I've got an entanglement, deal with it. Yes, and you don't know how long time's going. There's this thing in skydiving, isn't it? Never give up. Yeah. And you didn't give up. No, ladies and gentlemen, at home, Matthew then makes it contact back with the earth, but it gets even better than that. You're not on grass, you're in a river. That wasn't gonna kill you, you're now gonna drown. Some people might say and say that the the water broke your fall a little bit, the displacement. And from onlookers that we spoke to on this trip, they said they couldn't believe how lucky you were because there was rocks placed, big rocks, yeah, and just by chance, you happened to miss them. Yeah, so that's that's good. That's the good that's come out of it. So when you get down, you're in the water, you've got a rig on, there's lines, there's a canopy. So uh ladies and gentlemen at home as well. Uh our skydiving buddy Nick has just uh landed, come over and said uh hello, and he's all safe and buzzing, low ultimate done. The sun's come out again, and um so going back to it, Matt. So you've got lines, you've got just again. So is the canopy on you or is it is it is it is it tell us a bit about in the water if you can remember a little bit about it.
SPEAKER_02Um so going back, it it wasn't a really a river, um it was um quite a wide stream, and I'd I'd landed in a meander, um, so it was about three foot deep, um, but there was a lot of rocks on the on the bottom. Um so I hit that and then my canopy um opened up in the river.
SPEAKER_01Oh, so it the entanglement dislodged with the impact.
SPEAKER_02So with the with the flow of the uh of the stream, river, whatever you want to call it, um then my canopy um basically started inflating with the water and it just started dragging me down. So I mean I'm in a world of mess at that.
SPEAKER_01There's no ground team, there's no guy there, the lads on the bridge are basically um I I I've seen the video, so I'll just take this bit. Is that there they they because the the team, the quickest option for them to get to you, jump. Yeah, I've seen it. They get themselves together. There's people going, oh my god, the the the main man on the jump there, the very experienced guy, he he straight away over, he knows what he needs to do. Straight out, let's get to Matt. They don't know what they're gonna find. Tell me, did you did you know, did you see the parachute and think they think they're on the way, they're on the way. I'm alive, I'm alive.
SPEAKER_02At that moment in time, um, I was getting dragged down the river. Yeah, so I'm trying to dig my heels in and fight this parachute that's pulling me down. Yeah. And um because we've got no cutaway like in normal skydiving. At that time, one of my mistakes is I didn't have a hook knife on me, which which I do regret. So I I was I was basically I was fighting with it with quite a bit of pain. Luckily enough, and I find it quite ironic and funny, right next to where I landed, there was a Frenchman fishing. So team leader, he he he jumped off, he ran up to me, and then he was in. And the French fisherman he had a knife on him. They both jumped into the river to me, and they got hold of my harness, me, they were grabbing whatever they could to stop me getting pulled down the river, and basically they just cut the harness off me totally.
SPEAKER_01So the kind of sharp enough knife to go through the wow. So at this point, is he shouting over to say we need a knife? Yes, yeah, okay, cool, right, okay. The Frenchman he was just going capush! Yeah, telling you telling you what's happened, and well we know what's happened, right? Yeah, get into the details, they cut the rig off. Yep. At that point, you you know you've hurt yourself. Yeah, yeah, you know. Um, but you the survival mode kicked in. Get out of this water, yeah. Get out of this water, rigs off, uh canopy's out of the way now. Uh canopy was going downstream. Oh, right, right, okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_02That was dis that was disappearing.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so how did you get yourself out of the water? We're just out of the water onto the onto the bank then.
SPEAKER_02Um with help from both of them, um, and pure adrenaline, I think. I I walked out of the stream. Um my body felt like um remember your granddad's toolbox that was just full of scanners. Right. Um as I was walking, it it felt like that. Everything was clicking, creaking, and uh and I just got on the side and did you have a little bit of thing that I I can survive this?
SPEAKER_01Yes, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's weird, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's weird. You you you you're thinking, Jesus, if I've just done this, I got I know I can survive this now. To be fair, I weren't I was I weren't even thinking at that time. It's amazing that you were conscious, Matt. I mean, you know, um obviously head head was protected in the force. Yeah. Okay, so moving on, obviously, helicopter EMS rescue, is it all so I I stay on all fours.
SPEAKER_02Um basically they're like like the downward dog position. Yeah. Um and I just that was a comfortable position for me to stay in. Um I couldn't move, I couldn't be any in any other position um because um That's how you felt that that was the most comfortable.
SPEAKER_01You could be right, okay. So we're waiting at that point. I think you said a few police members came as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, a few a few police came. Um uh I went from from that, I remember when I was in the fire service that it's nice to have one person to talk to and not have a yeah. Tell me about that because I've heard you mention that to other people, yeah. So so not to have a crowd around you with body going, Oh, oh, he's there, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So I wanted one person to speak to, and I I asked him if the rest of the people would stay away. I didn't need that. Uh you know, the the two man. Yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_01And you at that point I think you've made the decision that you're in one piece. Yes. Although be your granddad's toolbox. Yeah. So you get extracted uh by Heli, was it? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02No, it was um uh road ambulance. How was that? Um so as soon as it turned up, they got me in the bike, cut all my cut all my clothes off, and uh give me an injection of whatever it was. Whatever it was, it was great.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay, right, yeah. So, of course, at this point, nobody has explained to you what you've done. No, they're just basically let's get into hospital. No, they they had they had no idea. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_02The great thing is, did you lose consciousness at any point? I I I think I lost it for a split second or two when I landed in the stream. Okay, right, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. There is probably a two thirty-second gap that you just don't know.
SPEAKER_02But because because the stream was so cold, it I think that helps as well.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So we go back to hospital. Was it was it straight into tell us a bit about the hospital, intensive care or uh no, they took me to one hospital, uh they gave me a full CAT scan. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, they started taking um water that was under my skin uh on my chest and draining that. Um then they needed to send me to another hospital, can't remember the name, um, to basically go into intensive care.
SPEAKER_01So you did go intensive care, and what did they do in there? It wasn't induced coma or anything like that.
SPEAKER_02No, no, I was um I was on intensive care for a week, um, and I tell you something, the French was absolutely brilliant.
SPEAKER_01Right, right, yeah, yeah. So what did you actually damage or how where did what did you break?
SPEAKER_02Um well they didn't tell me till after about three days because I was kind of uh that heavily medicated I didn't really compute what was going off. I knew I was in hospital, I knew I was had monitors all over the place, and um and then after that the um they told me that I broke all my ribs, ripped my lung in half, uh, liver ripped in half and brought my back in two places. I was very lucky, I had no um even the surgeon said you're very, very lucky not to uh need it.
SPEAKER_01With all of that, there was no operation necessary. So basically rest. Yes. And they put you in a frame, did they? Uh they put me in a body brace. Body brace, yeah. Yeah, that was for the back injury. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02How long do you spend in hospital in France? Well, so for a week, a week in intensive care where I couldn't couldn't even leave leave my bed, which I found a bit soul destroying. Um I was in hospital for three weeks in France. Yes.
SPEAKER_01The E111 worked. Yeah, the J H I Card. Yeah, the J H I C card, yeah, yeah. Um so they looked after you. Big respect to the government for that taxes and that's it, yeah. No, that's it. That you were you're a Brit aboard and uh you'd wet in your time of need, it was there for you. Okay, so so you say so. Did you self-discharge from hospital? If it's alright with you, I'll go back a little bit.
SPEAKER_02So I came out of intensive care. Um, then they put me on a specialist um backboard, and they told me I couldn't shower myself and stuff like that, and I'm not that kind of person. So I used to get up before they woke up because the staff used to sleep at night, so I get up at five in the morning, I'd sit in the shower for 45 minutes, and on the first day I walked around the hospital once. Second day I did the same, but I walked around the hospital twice. Every day I walked around that hospital more.
SPEAKER_01Did that give you an indication that I'm getting stronger with my injury? I was fighting. That's the word, isn't it? You knew you've got to dig yourself out of this hole. Yeah. Yeah, and I've got to get home. Yeah. And the only way they're gonna let you home is by showing that you can do it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I think that goes back to X-Forsers, ex-fire service, a lot of self-discipline, and yeah, it's a mindset, I think.
SPEAKER_01And you knew you just knew if I if I just lay back here, it's gonna take longer. Yeah. Yeah. So you do this over the couple of weeks, and did was it your choice to to repatriate? Let's get home.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, they basically basically said to me I needed to get an uh ambulance home, um, which was gonna cost about well, it was gonna cost thousands. I was advised not to not to get on a flight, so I'd I discharged myself, then I couldn't bloody get a taxi. So I'm there with two suitcases, and I had to walk five miles to the train station to get to the air, and I was in bit, yeah, I was nearly crying, but I I needed to get home.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there is, it's again, it's that fighting, fighting to get home. And um, so we don't need to go into the details of exactly how you got home, but you got home on a normally public flight. Yep. Arrive home, what sort of reception were you met with at the air at the airport?
SPEAKER_02Um so I I I changed at Amsterdam. I arrived at the airport and they said, sorry, uh Mr. Penny, um we've uh we didn't manage to put your uh luggage on at Amsterdam. So this is back home. So back home at the airport. Um they told me my luggage was still in Amsterdam, and I said to I said to the woman, I said, Do you know what? I don't really care. And she was very shocked by that. That's it, yeah. Just send it home if you find it, yeah. And then my wife uh she she came to pick me up with my daughter, and then we went went home and um yeah, I was.
SPEAKER_01Do you want to talk about what that felt like going through them doors? Felt comfy. Comfy, felt warm. You cry when you knew you got home, yeah. Because because there's somebody there that you know that's gonna now look after you. So at that point, is it straight home or is it now? Let's get to a UK hospital and now they've got to look after me.
SPEAKER_02Uh no, it was straight home. UK didn't see me for two months. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01But you've got a strict set of instructions, you got any meds or anything like that? Um prescriptions, I mean, so get the meds.
SPEAKER_02No, no meds, it was it was the it was the just just the body brace. Body brace, paracetamol, yeah, hyperprofit. Take it easy, take it easy. I mean, going back to France, the they gave me that many drugs one night. I was absolutely hallucinating. I even thought the SAS, um, the French SAS was on the window ledge outside trying to get in to get me. Um so after after that, I'll I'll stop taking meds because the pain's there for a reason, you know. When do you know when the pain's gone?
SPEAKER_01I don't know. I don't think there's probably much truth in it, but um time at home uh where you're trying to rebuild yourself, and you've still got a bit of a regime where you're walking a bit further and trying to trying to get fit, trying to rebuild that, but not overdo it. Yeah, not overdo it. How long until things started to feel normal enough where you had to go to the hospital and have the brace off? Was that the two-month period? No, I decided that myself. Okay, yeah. You took the brace off? Yeah. Okay, before you went to see the UK hospitals? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So I took the brace off and uh went back to work. Um my daughter was really good, she came to work with me and helped me, uh, as well as my other employees. You were weak at this point. Yep. Yeah, you weren't 100% fine. Yeah, so but yeah, they got help. Yep, so we had a we had a paving job with concrete paving slabs that we had to lay. Right, okay. You couldn't write it, could you? No, no, you couldn't. No, the first job back, but so what drew you back to seeing a hospital again? Things started feeling wrong or no, I wanted to get signed off so I could go back skydiving. Oh because of the because of the injury, because of you're self-certifying skydiving.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you'd need to actually make sure you're okay, yeah. No, that's that's fair. That's again discipline. Yeah, you don't want to put that on someone else's shoulders. How well how come he's injured himself again? Okay, so you so you so you go back. So you walk into a UK hospital, and what do you say? Um they gave they gave me two X-rays. That they don't even know this accident's happened.
SPEAKER_02Uh no, no, I I I I phoned the NHS up. Okay, the NHS line. Yep, and they said the next available slot is two months. Um I says, but I've got a broken back. Yeah. Um sorry, two months.
SPEAKER_01Wow, so that that's interesting because they they didn't have that that accident or break lodged on their file, or does it cross fire? Did the files update that they knew you had a broken back? Yeah, it was all sent over from so they knew your situation, right? Okay, and then they basically put you on the two months because they're thinking, well, it can't have healed, or he can't be feeling like this. So you go there, you get did you get signed off straight away at the two-month point? No, it was four months. Four months, okay. Bit of physio, stuff like that. Did you go then for a CT scan to check the the repairs of what?
SPEAKER_02No, they just did an x-ray.
SPEAKER_01Did an x-ray and they seen the back was okay. Yep. What about all the other injuries like the the the liver and stuff like that? I mean, you just started feeling okay. Liver self-heal. Self-heal, yeah. So they didn't the UK meds didn't check that, that's what I'm saying. You you started feeling better in yourself.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So how long before you did your first skydive then? Oh I'd say five months. Five months. So you managed to get signed off in five months, and you've done an you've done an injury like that. First skydive thoughts on that? Obviously, just oh, this is a skydive and I hurt myself base jumping like that.
SPEAKER_02No, no, it wasn't, it was a totally different skydive to any skydive I've ever done. Right, okay, right, yeah, yeah. Um, but it was good and I enjoyed it and I needed to get that done.
SPEAKER_01Is it like would you say getting back on the horse? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So you sort of got back on the horse and you were like, right, okay, we're we're gonna do this, get down on the ground, wanna go again. Yeah. Yeah. How was the back and stuff like that? It was feeling like it was up to it. Really? It was good up to it, yeah. You said that to me uh I think a couple of months ago, that you didn't change I don't know whether you said it changed your life or you said some good things have come out of it. Um is that your thoughts in your head or the way you view life or or something like that? Or uh yeah, kind of you've changed perspective in life, do you think? Yeah, I don't take life as serious as I used to. Right, okay. You worried a bit more about other things.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and um things that I used to worry about, uh you kind of realise that they're pointless of worrying about them, and you just you just need to get on. And to be fair, I think the word I'm looking for is humble.
SPEAKER_01Right, yeah, you said I'm very humble. That's the word you used, yeah. Humble on life that you've been given. Yeah, yeah. Um, but has that reigned in the any I wouldn't like to use the word recklessness, but is it reigned in any uh exploration? Or do you still have the urge for exploration but you know the discipline?
SPEAKER_02No, I want I want more.
SPEAKER_01You want more? Yes, I don't know, not stick it to the man, but yeah, yeah, you just like I I've decided that I can do what I want to do. I've had a bad experience. Yeah. Do you think it nearly put you off? Yeah, 100%. Nearly put you off, yeah. Which that's a normal thing to say. Yeah. But you got back on the horse, you're back out here in Switzerland. Yeah, loving it. Loving it, yeah. And enjoying it as well, mate. And and I I just, you know, when I heard this is me now, when I heard about the accident, I just know that you'd hurt yourself. I think actually the first time I seen you, it was a post on on social media with you in a back brakes, and I was like, whoa, what's Matt done? And then when I actually heard what you'd done, I was like, whoa, you know. So any point as to anybody, not how they could avoid an accident like that, but what would you what advice would you give to somebody who's setting out in base jumping? Would you change the way how you have entered base jumping? Would you slow your progression down? No, no, no.
SPEAKER_02No, uh, it's it's their choice to do that sport, just like any sport, and we know the risks. We're big boys or big girls. So no advice to avoid that accident happening.
SPEAKER_01No, I wouldn't I wouldn't give advice because it's yeah, it's the it's the yeah, that's right, yeah, no, that's fair enough. There's no pointers that that that alerted you to when you look back that that was coming. Personally, I'll if I started doing that, I'd send myself crazy because okay, there's a lot of what ifs and what well listen, mate, thanks very much for speaking to us, and I I I really applaud you for the fighting, everything you've done, and getting back on the horse. Yeah, and well done. All right, thanks for joining us. It's nice to be out here with you, mate. I know, yeah. All right then. Uh ladies and gentlemen, that was the Big Al podcast with Matt Penny, the man who managed to survive fall from a bridge with what you might only say as a bed sheet above his head.
SPEAKER_00You've been listening to the Big Al Podcast. Does your head hurt? Yeah. Ears ache. Oh, but did you have fun? We do hope you enjoyed the show. We know we had a blast. Not that you couldn't tell. And we'll be back soon. But in the meantime, hook up with us on Facebook at Big Owl North Wales, on Twitter at Big OwlTowl, and the website big owlnorthwales.com. Be cool. Stay safe. And we'll see you next time on the Big Owl Podcast.