How high up was Burt's fall?

[Dr. Hatchet]

I myself have no idea, it was less then 14, they said it was a steep line. So they went down I would guess more then 4 floors but does anyone know how many?

[GD_Elite]

Heres my math from the chapter 24 discussion thread

The zipline went from the roof (~15th floor) to the adjacent roof. Then it went back down to the 3rd floor. Assuming the same angle slope on the 2 zipwires, the adjacent tower is probably about 9 stories tall. Burt was close but probably just a bit higher than the roof of the other tower. This means that Burt probably fell around 10 floors. Not to mention that the burning tanker was beneath him. I'm not sure that he would have necessarily hit that, but its an extra reason why he might not have made it.

[MancheeLivesOn]

Looking at the cover art from the show the building he zipped to was six stories high. So about 60 feet?

[Nullifier]

Nobody ever died from falling, it's the sudden stop that kills you :D

[Dr. Hatchet]

I'm just think, damm it Burt better be saved by aliens or magic or something

[GD_Elite]

Looking at the cover art from the show the building he zipped to was six stories high. So about 60 feet?

Good idea, but I believe you are incorrect. The RPG team was on the other side of the tower to the nearby tower where the helicopter was landed. From memory, I believe that the RPG team was north, and the building with Kelly and Tanya in was the south side.

[Nullifier]

How far out was he when the rope let go?
maybe he was able to swing toward a window or grab hold of a ledge on the way down.

I've only listened to the episode once, will have to listen again me thinks.

[Dr. Hatchet]

Nobody ever died from falling, it's the sudden stop that kills you :D

Heart attack while falling

[nikvoodoo]

How far out was he when the rope let go?
maybe he was able to swing toward a window or grab hold of a ledge on the way down.

I've only listened to the episode once, will have to listen again me thinks.

We don't necessarily know how far away he was. The rope break happened 10 yards away from the Adjacent Tower rooftop, but that doesn't mean he was at that point. 10 yards is pretty close considering the distance he traveled to get from one tower to the next and Michael said he was close...hmm.

[Dr. Hatchet]

they could hear him scream easy, so maybe he was close

[nikvoodoo]

they could hear him scream easy, so maybe he was close

We know he was close. Michael said as much. But we won't know for sure how close is close. I don't know how close you'd have to be to be heard over the helicopter, nor do I know how loudly I would scream if I just realized I was falling to my death.

[ClearSights]

Doesn't scratch say at the end of the chapter " Put him with the old man " Do you think she means Burt? And if so it seems like he is alive because the person they found was alive so it wouldn't make sense putting him with a dead Burt

[Kc]

Looking at the cover art from the show the building he zipped to was six stories high. So about 60 feet?
I will say this much, the building on the cover art is NOT the same building they took off from.

[Dr. Hatchet]

Doesn't scratch say at the end of the chapter " Put him with the old man " Do you think she means Burt? And if so it seems like he is alive because the person they found was alive so it wouldn't make sense putting him with a dead Burt

Maybe more then one old guy though

[WestonWisdom]

I have a theory - Kalani's dead body broke the fall.

[Kn1ckerb0cker33]

I will say this much, the building on the cover art is NOT the same building they took off from.

Well assuming that the zip line leads to a shorter building (which I imagine it would, given how zip lines work) there might be a chance that Burt could have survived a shorter fall, but probably broke both of his legs if not his spine in the process. Or he could have just died from the fall.

From what Kc might be suggesting, I don't know how short the building is where they took off from but it gives Burt a better chance of survival (as small as it might be).

I expect nikvoodoo to come up with something that will debunk that even a shorter fall from a 4 - 8 story building is completely fatal XD.

@WestonWisdom lulz

[nikvoodoo]

No debunking. One can survive a fall from 40-50 feet with broken bones. The issue comes if he fell from higher. Once one reaches a certain speed, the height becomes irrelevant. Once that speed is achieved: game over.


Of course, there are exceptions (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Chisov)

[WestonWisdom]

No debunking. One can survive a fall from 40-50 feet with broken bones. The issue comes if he fell from higher. Once one reaches a certain speed, the height becomes irrelevant. Once that speed is achieved: game over.it

Of course, there are exceptionshttp://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Chisov


http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotTheFallThatKillsYou

I think this explains both how Burt may have survived the fall and why he did.

[Dr. Hatchet]

I do think that Myth Busters made a thing about falling and hitting ground and hitting water, but as we all know we don't know how far he fell

[h3half]

Just remember that there have been freak miracles where people survive giant falls with (barely) a scratch. (Not the person, a cut on the surface of your skin). Falling leg-first is the best way to survive (so I've been told, I can't say I've tested it), so Burt might have a broken leg or two. Worst case; he's dead. Best case; he sprained an ankle or something weird like that.

Example:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-sherwood/falling-man-how-a-new-yor_b_702527.html

Not the story I was directly thinking of, and this guy's legs got messed the heck up, but he lived. And he fell from MUCH higher than Burt did, up to four times higher.

EDIT: Just actually read the entire article I linked. There is a definate possibility of Burt living from such a fall, and since he was in the Marines in Vietnam, he may have had specialized training of some sort (Marines are picked for all sorts of weird jobs) and may have known that relaxing before impact could save your life.

Who knows. (Kc does)

[sdkmcqueen]

This thread may be old, but I have nothing to do. If burt was say 10 feet from the balcony when his rope snapped I imagine the momentum that he built up would have been enough to land him say 2 or 3 balconies below the intended one. He possibly got knocked unconscious by the impact of hitting a lower balcony. Just my theory though.

[nikvoodoo]

This thread may be old, but I have nothing to do. If burt was say 10 feet from the balcony when his rope snapped I imagine the momentum that he built up would have been enough to land him say 2 or 3 balconies below the intended one. He possibly got knocked unconscious by the impact of hitting a lower balcony. Just my theory though.

10 yards away. Not 10 feet. He was 30 feet away from the rooftop. We also know nothing of that other building's construction. We don't know if there are balconies or not.

[sdkmcqueen]

Well then assuming there arent he may have went through an exterior window. Or he could have bounced off the wall and landed on a pile of dead zombies. Might be enough to cushion the fall.