The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
MP’s close shave as parachute fails
Former Brexit minister Steve Baker got more adrenalin than he bargained for when his parachute failed to open while skydiving during a holiday.
The Tory MP, who quit the government as a Brexit minister last month, went into a “fast spiral dive” and had to rely on his reserve parachute.
Mr Baker had to perform an emergency landing and came down on a golf course, right beside the club house in the Algarve, Portugal.
“Aftertwo attemptsto releasethetoggle Itookthereserve”
Mr Baker revealed the news of his close shave with a beaming smile in an Instagram post on Sunday.
He said: “Pleased my reserve parachute, here in white, worked as advertised after a main malfunction last week.
“Emergency landing on nearby golf course perfect, next to clubhouse.
“Wished you were there etc.”
Mr Baker added that the problem began after the left steering toggle had jammed.
The former minister said: “After two attempts to release the toggle, I took the reserve.”
Despite his potential brush with death, Mr Baker insisted the dive had been “awesome”.