A currently unidentified Israeli man decided to take a paragliding trip from the Golan Hights near the Jordanian and Syrian border. Now this in and of itself was not a stupid choice, as the Golan Hights are apparently well suited for paragliding adventures and are a popular location for these intrepid fliers. The poor decision making skills came into play when our nominee decided to jump from a location near a minefield. Yes, a minefield. Military units are reluctant to jump in the vicinity of minefields during wartime, for obvious reasons. Why a recreational paraglider would choose such a location defies logic. I'm not a paraglider, but even I know that when jumping off of a cliff with a parachute attached, the first thing you want to do is make sure there are no obstacles, such as power lines, trees, and in a place like a hostile border, minefields, in the way.

Our nominee jumped, his parachute malfunctioned, and he promptly crashed into where else but the middle of the minefield. He somehow missed all mines and only broke several bones, so he is only up for an Honorable Mention.

As of this writing the army is still attempting to rescue him. Perhaps more info will come soon.

Submitted on 09/04/2006

Submitted by: Tyler Stover
Reference: Reuters via Yahoo news, 9-4-06

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
Thanks for the submission, Tyler! Now THIS one has "Wile E. Coyote" written ALL over it!!! Even though I'm not 100% sure the victim KNEW he was jumping in the vicinity of a minefield, it's just too funny to pass up! Also, he didn't die, so MAYBE he learned something from all this!

Sheryl said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
Thanks for the story, Tyler. Okay, it's dumb but what we really need to know is whether he knew there was a minefield in the vicinity. I'll let it through but I'm still a bit neutral on this one.

Fitzroy said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
Wow, it sounds like this was only not a classic Darwin Award because of blind luck. If the minefield was unknown and unmarked I suppose my thinking would change. As it is, I still see this as a strong Honorable Mention candidate, provided it emerges that the minefield was no secret when the jump took place.

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