The force fractured his C2 vertebra – the second bone from the top of the spine. Trent will have his head and neck in a steel brace for 12 weeks but doctors are confident he will make a full recovery. “I don't remember the pain, all I do remember is me screaming," Trent said. "That's when I knew something really bad had happened." At that stage he was about 3000 feet above the ground.

“I looked up and all my parachute was all twisted up. All the lines leading from my backpack up to the canopy were all twisted,” he said. Twisted lines mean the parachute can't open fully and the skydiver will continue to fall in excess of 100km/h. Hard landings and twisted lines have caused five fatalities in Australia since 2009. “I just started kicking my line twists out as fast as I possibly can [sic] … I probably would have lost about 500 feet, a thousand feet by this stage.” Trent said the fear really hit him at that point.

“I'm flying towards the ground and I just looked down at the ground thinking 'I just want to get to the ground'. That was it, that was my dying thought.” Trent managed to untangle his parachute but discovered another problem. One of his steering toggles was tied up in the lines, rendering his steering and braking useless. “This third thing's going wrong, it's like, 'Why? It doesn't make sense! It shouldn't be.'” By now he was down to about 1500 feet and teetering on unconsciousness. Below 1000 feet is too late to pull a reserve chute. Having extensively studied the Australian skydiving fatality records, Trent was aware that most jumpers were killed because they failed to make a decision in time.

Rapidly closing in on the crucial 1000 foot mark, Trent opted to ditch his main chute and deploy his reserve – a choice that probably saved his life. “I pull my cutaway handle, and as soon as you pull it, it is so fast. I'm just in freefall again … I'm just tumbling towards the earth.” His second chute opened without incident and he managed a safe landing despite his injuries. Trent was rushed to hospital where doctors set his spine with a halo brace bolted to his skull. Despite the terrifying experience, Trent is adamant he will skydive again if he is able.

“It's an amazing activity that I'd never want to give up,” he said. As for others who find themselves in a similar position, he insists deploying his reserve was the right thing to do. “When in doubt, whip it out,” Trent said.