How fast does a human body fall from an airplane?

The speed achieved by a human body in freefall is slowed down by air resistance and body orientation. In a stable, belly-to-earth position, terminal velocity of the human body is about 200 km/h (about 120mph). A stable, freefly, head-down position produces a speed of around 240-290 km/h (around 150-180 mph).



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Although people do survive, your chances aren't very good, Hamilton says, so it's better to avoid the situation entirely. In the end, the best way to survive a tumble out of an airplane may be to wear a parachute.

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There is no specific distance from which a person can fall and have it said they will survive or not survive. There are simply too many variables that will dominate the factor of distance. In 1971, flight attendant Vesna Vulovic fell 10,160 meters (~33,300 ft) and survived without a parachute.

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Fall Out of Airplane FAQ When you fall from a great height, you die due to the damage caused to your body by the sudden deceleration when you hit the ground. If you jumped from high enough, you could possibly die due to a lack of oxygen or a heart attack before you ever hit the ground.

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The NTSB says that despite more people flying than ever, the accident rate for commercial flights has remained the same for the last two decades, and the survivability rate is a high 95.7 percent.

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This Flight Attendant Fell From 33,000 Feet — and Lived For 44 Years. Just over fifty years ago Vesna Vulovic fell out of the sky from 30,000 feet – and lived.

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