Sky Diver Luke Aikin Jumps 25,000 Feet With No Parachute, First Time In History

Skydiver Luke Aikins has made history by successfully jumping from 25,000 feet above California’s Simi Valley without a parachute.

Aikins landed in a 100 feet by 100 feet, two-tiered net set up to catch him. Accomplishing the feat with a 120 mph terminal velocity.

Moments before he reached the safety net he did a last-second roll onto his back to land in the right position. Upon landing he remained motionless for a short while, before the net was lowered, and he stood up to embrace his wife, reports CNN.

Atkins, 42, describes himself as “a member of the Red Bull Air Force, professional skydiver, BASE jumper, stuntman, pilot … (and) aviation expert.”

He performed the stunt live on TV while his family and supporters watched from the landing site.

“I’m here to show you that if we approach it the right way and we test it and we prove that it’s good to go, we can do things that we don’t think are possible,” he told CNN affiliate Q13 Fox.

Atkins prepared for the stunt by doing jumps with a parachute aiming for a 100-square-foot target, opening his parachute at the very last minute.

Closer to the actually jump he trained with a smaller target giving him greater leeway with the full-sized net.

The hardest part of the jump is staying on target, he said as “The wind changes all the time at different altitudes.”

“Whenever people attempt to push the limits of what’s considered humanly possible, they’re invariably described as crazy,” said Aikins. “But to me, this jump is simply the next logical step in a lifetime of extreme challenges.”