WATCH: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Skydives with 106-Year-Old World War II Veteran
Texas Governor Greg Abbott went skydiving with a 106-year-old World War II veteran on Monday morning.
Abbott and the veteran, Al Blaschke, did the jump from about 8,000 feet at Skydive Spaceland in Fentress.
It was the governor’s first time skydiving.
“We did some hard turns,” Abbott told reporters once the daredevil duo made it back to land. “It’s an upside-down ride a couple of times, but it’s a lot of fun.”
“The most shocking sensation is when you immediately exit the plane, and you’re just in freefall,” Abbott said.
Abbott, who is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair, joked that his biggest fear was that he “would land, and I would not be able to walk away.”
The local NBC affiliate reports, “Blaschke is a previous Guinness World Records title holder for the oldest tandem skydive. Last month, a 104-year-old Chicago woman skydived in an effort to become the new record holder. She died a week after her jump.”
Here we go.
Unbelievable day. https://t.co/2iekzqjeOQ
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 27, 2023
Abbott tweeted a video of the dive, writing that it was an “unbelievable day.”