RAF parachute instructor who was left paralysed after collision at 900 feet to complete fifth half marathon for charity

A former RAF parachute instructor who was knocked unconscious in mid-air when he collided with another jumper at 900 feet and left paralysed from the shoulders down says life became a “game of inches” but “it could have been worse”.

Rob Bugden, 38, from Cowbridge, South Wales, was completing his last jump as part of a high-altitude military training exercise before returning home to the UK, when disaster struck.

He remembers giving the “thumbs up” after opening his parachute and then waking up in hospital with a broken neck and being told he would never be able to walk again.

Rob, who was 30 at the time, has not let the fall stop him from enjoying life and jokes that his greatest achievement is being able to feed himself and “down a bottle of beer in six seconds” with no hands.

He is looking to complete five half marathons in his wheelchair to help raise money for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and other charities which have helped him along the way.

“It was the last jump on the last day – it always is,” Rob told PA Real Life.

“I was looking forward to going home.

“The last time I ever walked was actually down the aircraft to the tailgate.

“I came home slightly different.”

Rob joined the RAF in 2008 before choosing to become a parachute instructor in the hope of one day overcoming his fear of heights and training the best of the British armed forces.

A few months after qualifying as an instructor in 2015, Rob was deployed to Blythe, southern California, to complete his high-altitude parachuting course, which involves jumping out of military planes at 25,000 feet, day and night.

“If you are a parachutist for a living, sometimes things can go wrong and I’m just lucky to be here to tell the tale,” he said.

“It’s just the way the cookie crumbles.”

Rob, who had completed around 100 jumps before, launched himself out of the Hercules C-130 with a dozen other RAF airmen.

“They’ve got a big four-propeller engine so the noise is very intense and you can only communicate with hand signals,” he said.

“I get to the edge, link in with the boys and get the ‘Red on’, which means you’ve got 10 seconds before you exit.

“And then you get the ‘GO’ and off the aircraft you go, off its slipstream into freefall – it went really well.”

The group moved into a star formation before breaking away and going through their “pull sequence” – when disaster struck.

Rob, who was a cross-country runner for Great Britain before joining the RAF, said: “I looked up and could see the canopy was big, rectangular and fully inflated.

“Next thing I know, I’m waking up in hospital.

“I didn’t know why I was there.

“Then slowly but surely I came to the realisation that I could not move.”

Rob had collided with one of his teammates, Brooke Stebbings, and been knocked unconscious a few minutes before landing.

“The collision knocked me unconscious, so I couldn’t collapse my fall from about 900 feet,” he said.

“We landed on sand which is the most important thing, because had we landed 50 metres to the east it would have been concrete and I definitely would not be here.

“It’s no one’s fault. It’s an occupational hazard at the end of the day.”

The impact left Rob with swelling on the brain and his heart rate dropped to around 10 beats per minute.

He also damaged his spinal cord, specifically the vertebrae C5 and C6, which means he is now tetra or quadriplegic.

“My legs don’t work at all and my arms don’t work as well as they should.

“I’m paralysed from just below my shoulders, but we’re still here to tell the tale which is the main thing.”

Rob was sedated and flown to the UK a few months later on a military plane, which was forced to fly at around 3,000 feet for fear the pressure would compress his spine.

He spent the next four years in and out of hospital.

“In the beginning there are more bad days than good days but I’m lucky to have been surrounded by an incredible group of people,” he said.

The accident has not stopped Rob from fighting to regain his independence and having a sense of humour.

“It’s about the inches – life just becomes a game of inches,” he said.

“For example, it took me 18 months to feed myself again.

“Did it matter that it looked like I was feeding myself with a catapult to begin with? Nope.

“My biggest achievement since I’ve been injured is that I can now down a bottle of beer in less than six seconds with no hands.”

Rob has also remained close friends with his parachute team, including Brooke, who also suffered life-changing injuries.

“He broke his tib and fib [tibia and fibula] and tore his kidneys,” he added.

“I don’t know what the stats are, but I’m pretty sure the chances of this were less than one in a million.”

Rob is now looking to raise money for the charities which have helped him through his recovery, including the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, for which he is an ambassador.

He has launched his campaign, 5 for 5, earlier this year, with the aim of completing five half marathons in his wheelchair to support five charities, including the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, OppO Foundation, Cakes 4 Casualties, Tough Enough to Care and the DMRC Benevolent Fund.

“The original plan was to try and raise £5,000 for each charity, but I’ve got one more half marathon left and I’ve nearly done £8,500,” he said.

“We’re going to have one last push and if we can get to 10 that would be incredible.

“Every single penny gets split between these five incredible charities.

“I just want to say thank you, because it just means so much to so many people.”

Rob has already completed four of the half marathons: the Great Welsh Half Marathon, the Great West Run, the Swansea Half Marathon and the Wales Half Marathon. He is aiming to complete the Cardiff Half Marathon on October 1.

The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund is the RAF’s leading welfare charity, supporting current and former members of the RAF, their partners and dependants, whenever they need it.

For more information visit their website.