Luke Aikins, 42, a daredevil skydiver just made history. He has become the first person to jump 25,000 feet without a parachute. During the two-minute free fall that was aired live on television, he reached the speed of as extreme as 193km/h. A veteran of 18,000 jumps, completed the stunt without mishap, landing almost in the middle of the 100ft by 100ft net. Takingonly a few moments to regain his composure, Mr Aikins came out ofthe net and immediately jumped into the arms of his very relieved wife, Monica.  Members of the family and a crowd of well-wishers watched it into from an improvised spectator stand in the California desert.

He almost had to cancel his epic jump because he was ordered to wear a parachute for safety and this would have made his landing more dangerous because of the extra weight. However, the ban was lifted by the organisers just minutes before the jump. It took him 18 months of preparation to make the jump, Mr Aikins said the need to wear a parachute would have made the jump more dangerous because of the need to adjust his position as he approached the net.