I’ve heard that if you were to fall from a really high place, you would lose consciousness on the way down. If this is true.. why does this happen?

Question

I’ve heard that if you were to fall from a really high place, you would lose consciousness on the way down. If this is true.. why does this happen?

In: Biology

Answer 1

It isn’t necessarily true. People have fallen from great heights, and miraculously survived, and been conscious all the way down. Fear may make some people pass out, and from a really, really great height lack of oxygen may also make you do so, but otherwise….

Answer 2

Sorry. Not true. 17,000 feet. If I recall FAR correctly, anything over 11,000 feet requires oxygen if over thirty minutes. 6,000 feet takes just thirty seconds in free fall.

The highest place to free fall would probably be Angel Falls in Venezuela. There, you are talking 3,200 feet. That translates to sport jumping, not base.

There have been some really high jumps that have occurred. The most famous was in the sixties. All of them involved oxygen and required balloons (and time) to reach the altitude.

You’ve heard the term HALO, which stands for High Altitude, Low Opening. There is also HAHO which is also considered ‘cross country.’