SKYDIVING SACRIFICE
The strength of sacrifice; in May 2002 Robert Bonadies and his fellow instructor Jim Olko were preparing to skydive, along with a novice - Cindy Hyland, in Connecticut. The jump was to be from 12000 ft, falling at 120 mph, which would take just 68 seconds with no parachute. When it came to releasing their chutes, Cindy Hyland couldn’t pull her cord. She lost her balance, and the three of them went into a funnel, one of the most dangerous things that can happen to skydivers. This increased their speed to 170 mph and they would have found it almost impossible to separate their three bodies at this point. However, Bonadies & Jim Olko stayed with Cindy. Jim Olko pulled up at 1100 ft. Bonadies, with 4 seconds left managed to manoeuvre himself under Hyland. They stared at each other with terror in their eyes, but Bonadies was able to pull Hyland’s cord. He stayed with Hyland, and did everything he could for her. She lived, but Robert Bonadies did not.
(From a sermon by Walter Pidgeon, The Strength of Sacrifice, 10/24/2011)