Can a man survive to a fall from 200m in water, why?

Question

I have watched videos that say that if your parashute doesn’t open, it’s more recommended to fall in soil or a tree, than water. Why???

In: Physics

Answer 1

There’s the standard idea which is that you could certainly drown in that water, but there’s also a thing called surface tension. Soil is softer and trees have branches and whatnot to soften and slow your fall (just don’t aim for the trunk) but water has surface tension. Essentially, you have to break the surface before you can actually get into the water itself, and that can be quite difficult if you’re moving too fast. Surface tension can make water just as hard as concrete if you hit it at sufficient speed.