A young Albion Park Rail man is recovering well at home after he, along with his instructor, crashed onto North Wollongong Beach in a freak skydiving accident this week.
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Brooklan Frkovic feels lucky to be alive after he and his highly experienced instructor, 55-year-old Mick, jumped out of plane on Wednesday afternoon.
They planned to land on the beach near Stuart Park but their parachute got caught on the top of nearby pines before crashing into the sand.
Mr Frkovic said they were gliding to the ground when the wind seemed to change and they came closer to the trees than planned.
He described spinning around and then "plummeting towards the ground".
"I have a mental image of us hurtling towards the ground and what it looked like," Mr Frkovic said. "There wasn't enough time to do anything so I braced and bounced once we hit the sand.
"I was trying to catch my breath as my face was in the sand and I couldn't open my eyes."
Staff from Skydive the Beach rushed to their aid and emergency services were called.
Mr Frkovic was treated for grazing to his body and face a deep cut to his chin which required stitches, three fractured ribs, a small collapsed lung and leg and hip bruising.
His instructor was heavily concussed and had no recollection of the event when treated by paramedics.
They were both stabilised and transported to St George Hospital.
Mr Frkovic was discharged from hospital on Thursday and is recovering well at home.
"I feel much better than I did a couple of days ago but I am still sore and tired," he said. "It is nice to be in the comfort of my own home again."
But the young man doesn't have any regrets about taking the leap.
"I was having a really, really good time until I wasn't, and we crashed," Mr Frkovic said.
"It was a freak accident. It is like having a car crash. Mick the instructor was very experienced."
Mr Frkovic said at the moment he did not have any plans to go skydiving again, but he does love adrenaline and has previously gone bungee jumping and plays sports, so he won't rule it out.
"I might have a redemption jump," he said. "Surely I can't crash twice."
Mr Frkovic went skydiving after his girlfriend bought him a voucher a few years ago and they had to use it before it expired.
She had bought it for him because she had loved her previous skydiving experience.
His girlfriend's brother jumped first, followed by Mr Frkovic, then his girlfriend.
Once she had safely landed, she rushed to Mr Frkovic and was understandably upset seeing him laying in the sand but kept calm.
Mr Frkovic's relieved parents were away and were told over the phone. He said he had received many well wishes from friends and family.
His New Year plans of spending time in Adelaide had to be cancelled but he is looking forward to having a 2022 without any accidents.
He thanked the skydiving staff, emergency crews, hospital staff, his girlfriend and family for what they did on the day and during his recovery.
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