Skydiving world record broken in Illinois

OTTAWA, Ill. — Falling at speeds of up to 220 mph, nearly 140 sky divers have shattered the vertical sky diving world record by flying heads-down in a massive snowflake formation in Illinois.

Three judges representing the international air sports federation certified that 138 sky divers successfully created the formation Friday during a sky diving festival in Ottawa.

It took 15 attempts over three days for the team to successfully break the previous record of 108 sky divers set in 2009.

Following months of planning and tryouts, sky divers from around the world squeezed into six aircraft and launched themselves into the air at 18,500 feet.

Four camera operators jumped with the 138 participants to record the 150-foot-wide formation, to prove to the judges that all the jumpers were in their pre-assigned slots.