Audiences at the North Shore Aero Club got a fright when Chuck Berry's parachute collapsed at the NZ International Airshow. Photo / Doug Sherring
Kiwi stuntman Chuck Berry jumped from a helicopter at the first NZ International Air Show yesterday, using a marquee as a parachute.
Moments later the marquee "failed" and Berry pitched into a freefall before deploying his back-up parachute.
"It was all part of my plan," Berry said last night. "The
first parachute I used was actually a tent. I developed it a wee while ago when I started doing parachute jumps. My plan was to jump with that, release it, then use my normal skydiving parachute."
A confused crowd saw Berry land just in time for a gust of wind to nudge him over the fence. "He landed all right and looked like a bit of a hero," marketing director Tina Moore said.
"That's the whole idea when you're doing an air show," Berry joked.
