Defying death at 10,000 feet

It has to go down as one of the most remarkable escapes, anywhere, ever.

The real-life drama which befell ace skydiver Mike Bolton high above Halfpenny Airfield, near Bridgnorth, sounds like an unlikely James Bond-style stunt.

He leapt from a plane at 10,000ft, only to crash into another plane flying about 40ft below, ending up in the passenger compartment.

The De Havilland Rapide biplane was left with a large hole in its roof and an unexpected passenger.

Mike may well be the only person in history to have taken off in one aircraft and landed in another.

Now aged 70 and living in Newtown, he continues to be heavily involved in parachuting as the chief instructor of the London Parachute School, and is still skydiving, although he doesn't jump as often as he used to.

He's done somewhere between 5,000 and 5,500 jumps, but none have been quite like his 348th, back on July 15, 1972.

He was part of a team called the Endrust Skydivers which were seeking to set a new European record of a star of 14 skydivers. Because of the numbers involved, six jumpers were on board the Rapide, and eight, including Mike, were on a Britten-Norman Islander.

"It was a Saturday evening, with beautiful weather. It couldn't have been better," Mike recalled.

"We rendezvoused at about 10,000ft. The two aircraft were flying in formation."

The jump from both aircraft began. It had to be carefully choreographed and time was of the essence. Mike, due to be the last-but-one to jump from the Islander, waited his turn. But for some reason, by that time the Rapide had slid underneath the higher aircraft.

"As I came out of the door I just saw the thing there and couldn't do much about it.

"I put my hands up to protect my face and crashed straight through the wood and fabric roof, and landed inside. My legs were through the door."

For a moment he considered jumping out. Luckily, he didn't, as he had broken both his wrists and may have been unable to pull his ripcord. He had also cracked his pelvis. He drew himself fully back into the aircraft.

"The pilot looked round and wondered what on earth had gone on. I put my thumbs up to indicate to him that I was reasonably OK, and he proceeded to land."

Mike's wife was watching from the ground.

"She knew the colour of my canopy, and could not see it. There were two canopies short. The guy behind me in the Islander saw the whole thing happening and reckons he tried to grab me and pull me back. He stayed in the Islander, so there was his canopy short, and my canopy short."

The jumper immediately before Mike, Mike Taylor, also hit the Rapide below, landing just in front of its tail, and sitting astride it a few moments before either falling or rolling off, opening his canopy at 10,000ft.

He landed in a cornfield two miles from the airfield with a broken femur and other injuries and, in the gathering dusk, a search plane was sent up to look for him.

"We were both in Stourbridge hospital together. I was in there for about three weeks, and he stayed in a while longer. Then they transferred him back to where his parents lived at Hampstead hospital. I went to see him there. After that I lost track of him. Last I heard he had either gone to South Africa or Australia." The incident made headlines at the time.

"It went all around the parachuting world, not only in this country, but even as far as Australia. Everybody thought it was a miraculous escape."

But he did get rather tired of all the fuss, especially when somebody at work nominated him for the television show "I've Got A Secret."

"I didn't really want to appear on it. This guy from the BBC came to see me and eventually cajoled me into taking part. The panel had to guess what your secret was. Jan Leeming could remember reading out the incident on the news so she was on to it fairly rapidly."

A curious sequel to the incident was that it led to legal claims over the damage to the aircraft and also for the damage to the corn in the field where Mike Taylor landed.

"The guy who owned the Rapide did sue the British Parachute Association. We were covered by the BPA insurance so it didn't cost me any money.

"And the farmer in whose corn field Mike Taylor landed tried to sue for damage to the corn – the ambulance had to drive into the corn to get him.

"Quite how he got on, I don't know."

By Toby Neal