Q&A for How to Survive a Fall from a Two Story Window

A bush can definitely break the fall from two stories. It is likely that your character would break some bones though and still require hospital attention.

Possibly, if you hit the tree it can slow your fall, although it is best to try to avoid hitting anything like your head. If your chest were to hit it, breaking a couple ribs of course, you would slow and take less damage from a fall. However, every situation is different and in some cases a tree could make things worse.

If the building gap is not significant, you can, but there's also the chance of the second building's roof collapsing during your landing (if the roof isn't strong enough to hold the weight).

Bend your knees and protect your head and, if you can, all of your vital parts like neck and chest.

Aim to land on the fattiest part of your body. For example, landing on your feet first and then falling onto your legs (if they are fattest) will release most of the energy on a higher area surface, and therefore absorb the shock. As advised many times, however, DO NOT aim head or pelvis first!

No, the sheer force of the fall, coupled with change in air pressure would almost certainly maim you and handicap you, if not kill you. Such a thing is not advised.

Yes, but try to roll when you land to reduce force and hopefully minimize injury.

Broken bones and strained ligaments are common. Spraining another part of the body, hyperextension, and being knocked out would be plausible.

Most likely, but you would severely injure or possibly kill the person you landed on, so I don't recommend it.

Yes. If you roll, like mentioned up above, it will not kill you, but you could have injures.

Landing on both of your feet reduces the damage, but it is possible that one foot will not be able to take the shock and may cause some serious injuries. A higher risk of damaging your organs takes place when you do not roll.

It depends on how you fall, but you would most likely survive a two-story drop.

If there is nothing soft around, land on the balls of your feet and roll as described in the text.

Yes, but if the bale is not wide enough, you could fall off, and this would prevent you from rolling, so this may not be the best option, depending on the circumstances.

Probably not. It will be only a few seconds before you hit the ground, which is not a long enough time for the shirt to actually engage and act as a parachute.

Either stay up there until help arrives, or climb down yourself. If you are hurt, just stay there and shout for help. Someone will come eventually.

Person A, falling first, would be worse off, plus holding Person B prevents using arms to help break the fall. Hitting tree branches hurts, so you get the same amount of pain as without the trees, just spread over different impacts. If you hit the branches with your legs or head they rotate you, sending you head-first toward the ground. If the branches are thick, they'll still break A's back. B would also be badly hurt, and 'using A as a mattress' is a myth. There will be broken bones, lacerations, whiplash, collapsed lungs, sprains and possibly death.

Yes, that would be the best way. Make sure you have rope in your bedroom if you're on the second floor of your house.

No, because the wood might actually harm you. You should find a place that has an open, soft area to roll on if possible.

No! You definitely want to jump out feet first to give yourself the best chance of landing on your feet. If you land on your head, you could suffer severe and potentially fatal injuries.

If you are jumping out the window, it is most likely an emergency situation. The most important thing to do is to get yourself out. Your best bet is to try to guide your dog out the window, or even simply drop them out the window if you're fleeing certain death. If you try to jump out the window with your dog, you'll end up crushing him/her, and probably hurting yourself worse in the process.

The answer is no. If they are a small child, like age 2-8, then perhaps you can catch them. But if they are about the same size as you, no. Their weight will crush you and you could be killed.

if you land on your back you have a significantly higher chance of injuring your spine, so it could cushion your fall, but do not try to land on your back.

Injuries depend on the distance between the window and the roof. If the roof is flat, falling onto it wouldn't be any different than falling onto the ground. However, if the roof is slanted and the edge is in jumping range, and the roof is less than 10 feet lower than you, jumping on the further side of the edge might help, turning the roof into a slide. Your buttocks will receive significant damage from this impact, though.