Skydivers attempting to break world record

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar, Bali

A group of more that 100 parachutists from 17 countries, including Indonesia, was unable to break the world record for the largest aerial formation in the sky, attempted above Ngurah Rai International Airport on Tuesday.

Other countries that have achieved the world record in an aerial formation of 100 parachutists are Russia, Slovakia, Thailand, the U.S. and France, but all used several airplanes.

According to Ngurah Rai Airforce Base commander Yoyok Y. Setyono, the record-breaking attempt was part of the 59th celebration of Independence Day.

However, the jumpers were unable to produce the formation, although they were able to control their descent velocity. They will continue the attempt until Saturday.

Head of the North Sulawesi chapter of the Indonesian Aerosport Federation (FASI) Theo Mandagi said that the jumpers had only 1.5 minutes to construct the formation due to a wind velocity of 30 kilometers per hour at an elevation of 20,000 feet.

The jumpers tried to form themselves into a huge, six-bladed red-and-white propeller formation in the sky.

Had the attempt been successful, Indonesia would have been noted as the seventh country in the world to achieve the largest aerial formation, as recognized by the International Aerosport Federation (FAI).

"Thailand established a world record in making an aerial formation comprising 357 parachutists last March, but that was achieved using several airplanes, whereas we're using only one," chief event organizer H. Nisfu Chasbullah said.

Led by a world-class jumper from the United States, B.J. Worth, the parachutists used a C-130H Hercules airplane belonging to the Air Force in their attempt.