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Red Devil caught mid-air after parachute fail says he owes team-mate a pint Red Devil caught mid-air after parachute fail says he owes team-mate a pint
(about 1 hour later)
A Red Devil parachutist who was caught in mid-air by a team-mate when his chute failed has said he owes his colleague a pint. A Red Devil parachutist who had to be saved mid-air by a team-mate when his chute became entangled has said he owes his colleague a pint.
Cpl Mike French, 34, was performing at the Whitehaven Air Show in Cumbria on Friday when his chute failed. Cpl Mike French, 34, was performing at the Whitehaven Air Show in Cumbria on Friday when the accident happened.
He was caught by Cpl Wayne Shorthouse before they crashed into the harbour.He was caught by Cpl Wayne Shorthouse before they crashed into the harbour.
Cpl Shorthouse said he was "no hero" and both men had been trained for such a scenario. Cpl Shorthouse said he was no hero and both men had been trained for such a scenario.
A message on the show's Facebook page after the incident said both men, who were performing with the Army freefall parachute display team, were all right. Cpl French said: "As soon as I had made contact with Wayne from the back, I looked up and saw the parachute was a little bit wrapped around.
It said: "We can confirm that the Red Devil parachutists are both safe and sound. For the first time in 25 years they had a parachute fail. "It was pretty much straight away you realise it's not exactly how we planned to do it but then training kicks in and members of the Parachute Regiment, the British Army, we always train for every eventuality.
"One team member caught his team-mate and brought him into Queens Dock. Our safety procedures worked perfectly and a huge thank you to Whitehaven Marina for getting them out of the water so quickly." "Display parachuting and especially canopy formation within display parachuting is a very difficult and dangerous aspect of sky diving so constant training is one of the things that kept us [safe], the communication and Wayne having a good parachute above his head."
Cpl Shorthouse, 32, however, said he was "just doing his job".
Both men said they were looking forward to the next display.
Onlookers at the display said the dramatic scenes had caused panic among the crowd with one describing the event as "frightening".
Lucy Milne, who was watching the display, said: "It seemed to go on for ages and it's just seeing the panic of everyone around you and seeing it on the parachute guys as well - the panic.
"And then all of a sudden he just started to go really quick and everyone was holding their breath and then all of a sudden they were in the water.
"Everyone was staring at the water for ages waiting for them both to pop up and then when eventually they did everyone clapped."
The Red Devils formed in 1963 and carries out more than 60 displays every year.
It currently comprises 12 serving soldiers from the three battalions of the Parachute Regiment, all of whom have to have at least three years experience.