Bungee jumping is a relatively safe extreme sport; accidents rarely happen and typically occur because of human error. Michael Lush's unfortunate incident is no exception. On November 8, 1986, Lush died from multiple injuries after rehearsing a stunt called "Hang Em' High", which was to be aired on the BBC's The Late, Late Breakfast Show.
The stunt in question involved bungee jumping from an exploding box that was hoisted 120 feet in the air by a crane. During the stunt, Lush's carabiner clip came loose and caused him to have a fatal impact. After a judicial inquiry, a process used by the courts to determine the cause of someone's death, it became clear that the horrific accident could have been easily avoided.
A member of the Health and Safety Executive showed the jury that the malfunctioning carabiner clip used for the stunt wasn't strong enough to hold the weight of a bag of sugar. In fact, the clip was only able to support the bag's weight 14 out of 20 times. When David Kirke, a member of the Dangerous Sports Club, performed a stunt similar to "Hang Em' High", three ropes were used as opposed to Lush's one, and shackles were used in place of a carabiner clip.
Along with the equipment being faulty, other issues also came to light. Michael Lush was a hod carrier by trade, and was not considered a professional by any means. This would not have been as much of an issue if a trained stuntman had been present for testing, but the production team in charge of the stunt failed to hire one. There was also no safety officer present during the stunt's rehearsal.
Once Michael Lush was in the box, there was no way for him to contact anyone on the ground. The jury eventually learned that Lush hesitated a full two minutes before being told to jump from the box. If he had been able to communicate with the ground crew, the rehearsal may have turned much differently.
Three days after Lush's demise, the BBC announced that the The Late, Late Breakfast Show was cancelled and made an executive decision to no longer put people in danger on any of their shows. Noel Edmonds quit working for the BBC until two years down the road, when he started Noel's Saturday Roadshow. Lush's family was awarded £120,000 by the BBC after a judicial inquiry determined that the accident was a misadventure.
In 1986, bungee jumping was still relatively unknown - commercial bungee jumping wasn't available until two years later. Fortunately, this accident didn't do much to prevent bungee jumping from becoming mainstream. If "Hang Em' High" was to be performed today, it is highly unlikely that such a horrible accident would have occurred. Modern bungee jumps are highly regulated and the chances of an accident happening are slim to none.