Good Luck Stories 2013 Archive.

Trainer Survives Tiger Mauling: ... November 26, 2013.

A 30 year-old trainer at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo is lucky to have survived an attack from the Sumatran-Bengal tiger he raised from a cub. He suffered severe neck and back injuries and blood loss after being bitten, and almost drowned when held underwater by the animal.

The incident occurred after a show (during which the huge animal chased colorful toys) while a BBC crew was filming for a documentary. It seems the trainer returned wearing a GoPro action camera and a colorful, padded training suit with mittens intending to excite the tiger into performing for the camera.

The zoo director said later the tiger "got a bit too excited" and it was not a malicious act. Workplace Health and Safety officials are investigating the incident.

Drunken Man's Trapeze Act on Power-Lines: ... April 10, 2013.

A Drunken Chinese man had to be rescued after performing an amazing trapeze act on high power lines in Linfen, China.

What was he thinking?

Skydivers Survive Mid-Air Collision: ... November 4, 2013.

Amazingly 9 skydivers and 2 pilots have walked away from a mid-air collision in Wisconsin near Lake Superior.

The lead plane (carrying the pilot and 4 skydivers) was struck from above by the trail plane (carrying pilot and 5 skydivers) and disintegrated in flames.

All the skydivers and the pilot of the lead plane managed to jump clear and parachute to safety.

The pilot of the trail plane managed to land safely. Only the lead pilot was slightly injured.

Man's Big Win with Bitcoin: ... October 30, 2013.

A Norwegian man purchased 5,000 Bitcoins for $27 in 2009 after discovering the new digital currency while writing his thesis on encryption. He then promptly forgot about it.

The recent meteoric rise in the Bitcoin price jogged his memory. After frantically searching his computer's hard-drive he finally found his "Bitcoin wallet" and eventually worked out his password.

In October of 2013 he sold 1,000 Bitcoins when they were selling for around $210 (i.e. $210,000) to help purchase an apartment.

On November 29th of 2013 the Bitcoin price sky-rocketed to an all-time high of $1,242 valuing his remaining 4,000 Bitcoins at $5 million.

Atomic Bombs Almost Detonated Over USA: ... September 24, 2013.

In his new book entitled Command and Control journalist Eric Schlosser uncovers some hair-raising nuclear mishaps and near misses that have occurred in the past.

Recently declassified information reveals that 2 hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over North Carolina just days after JFK's inauguration in 1961. Only the failure of a low-voltage switch prevented a disaster that would have caused a nuclear explosion 260 times more powerful than Hiroshima.

Falling Tree Barely Misses Bike Rider: ... October 28, 2013.

A bicycle rider in Amsterdam, the Netherlands narrowly missed being crushed to death by a falling tree during the recent hurricane-force storms lashing northern Europe.

If the towering tree had fallen a split-second later he would have been history.

Wrong Way Into Tunnel Towing Caravan: ... Feb 19, 2012.

An eighty year old man towing a caravan has driven almost eight miles in the wrong direction on a busy Australian freeway.

The senior driver managed to survive driving through Melbourne's Domain Tunnel (clipping several vehicles as he went) before finally coming to a stop further down the highway. He subsequently had his licence cancelled.

Man Nearly Speared by Monster Marlin: ... August 23, 2013.

A Florida man vacationing off the Dominican Republic coast was doubly lucky.

Not only did he land himself a monster 360lb marlin... but he was very lucky not to be impaled on its bill when it speared its way up into the boat.

Ohio Sinkhole Swallows Woman in Car: ... July 4, 2013.

A Toledo, Ohio woman got "the ride of her life" when a huge sink hole opened up in the middle of the road under her car and sent her crashing 20' below street level.

Fire fighters scrambled to rescue the shaken woman from her vehicle as burst waters pipes gushed water threatening to collapse more of the unstable surrounding earth and road.

The elementary school principle was unhurt.

Circus Acrobat Survives 85' Fall: ... April 18, 2013.

A trapeze artist is recovering from a fall that occurred while he was performing for the Moscow circus.

The Kenyan performer plunged 85' to the floor below. The safety net failed to catch him. He said he fully intends to return to work as soon as he can.

Man Drives Corvette Under Truck & Survives: ... Mar 9, 2013.

The driver of a high performance Corvette ZO6 came within inches of having his head taken off when he ploughed into the back of a moving truck.

He was incredibly lucky and only suffered minor injuries.

We'd guess the sports-car was a write-off.

Florida Sinkhole Swallows Hotel: ... August 12, 2013.

105 guests were staying at a three-storey resort complex near Disney World in Florida when it suddenly began to disappear into an enormous sinkhole 100ft in diameter and 50' deep. No one was injured.

Guests first became alarmed just before mid-night when the windows started to blow out... "You could hear the pops, and the metal, concrete and glass breaking. You could see the ground falling away from the building and it started leaning over".

Russian Pedestrians Sent Scattering: ... August 19, 2013.

Four Russians on a pedestrian crossing in Berezniki, Russia were lucky to avoid serious injury or death when an out-of-control, speeding car hurtled through a red light.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Catches Fire While Vacant: ... July 12, 2013.

A fire aboard a parked and vacant Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner at London's Heathrow Airport has sent fire crews scrambling.

The fire started in the rear cabin section and burnt through the upper fuselage near the tail section. No one was hurt and luckily the airliner was not in the air at the time.

This incident comes on the heels of earlier problems with lithium-ion batteries overheating and catching fire on several 787's (but nearer the front of the aircraft). Last January all 50 of the new 787's were grounded due to over-heating problems with the new light-weight batteries.

It has been suggested the fault in this case may be connected with the emergency transmitter beacon which is found in this rear section of the plane. This beacon is activated in a plane crash and is designed to help rescuers locate survivors. United Airlines and All Nippon Airways last week had reported issues with the wiring on their 787's emergency transmitters.

Boy Rescued Alive from Sand Dune: ... July 13, 2013.

A 6 year old Indiana boy was in a critical condition but responding well to treatment after being buried alive for over 3 hours under 11ft of sand.

The youngster had fallen into a hole on the shores of Lake Michigan. Luckily an air pocket kept him alive.

The boy's family found him partially submerged, but when they tried to dig him out the sand collapsed and swallowed him completely.

Police and fire-fighters had to bring in excavators to carry out the rescue.

No Fatalities in Massive Propane Plant Inferno: ... July 30, 2013.

A propane plant in Tavares, Florida which stored 53,000 20-pound cylinders of propane has exploded into a horrendous fire-ball sending metal fragments showering in all directions in a scene reminiscent of a war zone.

Fears were held for 15 missing workers at the Blue Rhino facility, however they were later all accounted for. Some had driven themselves to hospital while others had fled the scene.

"The fact that there are no fatalities is a blessing" said the city administrator.

105 Teens Rescued in Sex-Trafficking Raids: ... July 29, 2013.

FBI raids across 76 U.S. cities have resulted in around 150 "pimps" being arrested and 105 children rescued from prostitution.

The victims were mostly girls, some as young as 13.

FBI campaigns over the past decade have resulted in the rescue of some 2,700 children and the arrest of 1,350 pimps... 10 of whom were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Justice Dept estimates well over 400,000 children run away from home every year, and that up to a third will quickly be lured into a life of prostitution.

7 Year-old Boy Drives Car for Drunk Dad: ... June 21, 2013.

Police have stopped a 7 year-old boy who was driving along one of the Gold Coast's main roads at 3.00 am in the morning without headlights on. Police believe he may have driven up to 10 kilometres.

The boy's 41 year-old drunken father (who had ordered his son to drive back to their holiday apartment) was found slumped in the passenger seat beside him. Relatives had to travel from interstate to take care of the boy.

Police were amazed saying it was just extremely good luck a tragic outcome was avoided.

Chinese Baby Rescued from Sewer Pipe: ... May 29, 2013.

A newborn baby boy has been rescued from a sewerage pipe after his 22 year-old expecting mother went to the lavatory over a squat toilet in the building's public restrooms.

The unmarried mother (who had kept her pregnancy hidden) alerted the landlord saying there were "weird noises"" coming from the pipe. She said the pregnancy resulted from a one-night-stand with a man who denied responsibility.

Firefighters took one hour to pull the pipe apart and rescue the 5lb baby boy whose placenta was still attached.

Police were trying to establish whether the incident was an accident or due to "malicious intentions".

Plane Smashes into Apartment Building: ... May 31, 2013.

A light plane (Cessna 177B) has slammed into the second storey of an apartment building in Herndon, Virginia after the plane ran out of fuel.

Two residents in the apartment were slightly injured as was one of the two people in the plane.

Firefighters on the scene said the plane's lack of fuel had prevented a greater catastrophe.

Russian Couple Dodge Oncoming Semi-trailer: ... April 15, 2013.

A Russian couple travelling on the road from Tyumen to Omsk were forced to plough off-road into the snow when an out-of-control semi-trailer came sliding side ways at them across the road.

Anyone who has travelled some of Russia's not-so-great outback roads with their incessant streams of semi-trailers and heavy trucks would understand how lucky they were.

No Fatalities In US Bridge Collapse: ... May 24, 2013.

A bridge in the US state of Washington had collapsed sending several vehicles into the icy waters of the river below. The bridge links Seattle to Vancouver and carries over 77,000 vehicles daily.

Luckily no one was killed although several survivors had to be treated for hypothermia.

The bridge was built in 1955 and raises further questions about ageing American infrastructure. However, a truck side-swiping the side of the bridge may have been responsible.

Boeing 737 Overshoots Bali Runway & Crashes: ... April 13, 2013.

An Indonesian Lion Air Boeing 737 has crashed into the sea and broken up off Bali's Denpasar airport after over-shooting the runway.

All of the 108 people on board survived although many were bruised and shaken. Authorities are struggling to explain what happened as the aircraft was barely 2 months old and the pilot had 10,000 hours flying experience.

The pilot reported the aircraft being "dragged down by wind" which has safety experts worried that wind-shear may have been caused by an approaching storm. It had been hoped that recently improved technology had resolved the hazard of wind-shear (which has been blamed for 26 crashes and some 500 fatalities from 1964-1985).

Lion Air has been involved in 7 accidents since 2002 , two involving 737s which were written off. Because of this poor safety record, and the fact that several pilots have been caught in possession of crystal methamphetamine, the airline is back-listed from flying in European or U.S. airspace.

Lion Air operated 92 planes at end of 2012, but has placed massive orders for another 537 aircraft hoping to be among the world's top 10 airlines by 2025.

Bus Driver Dodges Pole Through Windscreen: ... Mar 26, 2013.

A Chinese bus driver has narrowly escaped being impaled by a lamp-post when it came crashing through the vehicle's windscreen.

The driver's quick reflexes and thinking helped stop the bus in time to prevent injury to his passengers.

Skydiver Survives 8,000' Fall: ... March 14, 2013.

A skydiving American-flag-stunt went horribly wrong sending a skydiver into a terrifying 90 mph free-fall from 8,000 feet up.

For 2 frantic minutes he struggles to manoeuvre his tangled chute before plunging in the "soft" dirt and grapes of a vineyard. Miraculously he escaped unhurt.

"Ghost Doctors" & Silicone Fingers: ... March 15, 2013.

Patients in an emergency clinic near Sao Paulo, Brazil have been saved from being treated by "ghost doctors" when a scam was busted.

The scam involved doctors using 6 fake silicone fingers to trick a biometric log-in system at the mobile emergency clinic by logging on doctors who were not present.

When caught on video, 29 year old Dr Ferreira said she was only following the orders of her supervisor, who organised the racket and pocketed the salaries earned from the unworked shifts.

One investigator said the practice was not uncommon among public workers in Brazil's health, education and security areas... "We have an army of ghosts."

Man Survives Harpoon Through Head: ... April 27, 2013.

A 34 year old Brazilian man was cleaning a loaded harpoon (he takes fishing) when it discharged into his face. It took him 10 hours to reach a hospital.

The 12 inch harpoon pierced his eye socket before penetrating almost right through his skull. Doctor's (who took 4 hours to remove the blade) were amazed that the harpoon missed every major artery in his skull.

A second operation failed to save the man's eye.

President Obama's "Beast" Is OK: ... March 22, 2013.

The President's armoured limousine (nick-named "The Beast" and "The Fortress on Wheels") was especially flown in from the U.S. for Mr Obama's visit to Israel... only to break down 2 hours before the president's arrival.

Red faced Secret Service officials had to scramble to dispatch a back-up car from the U.S. embassy in Jordan.

The problem?... someone had mistakenly put diesel fuel in the tank.

It seems the US$300,000 bullet-proof, biochemical-proof, 8 tonne Cadillac-based vehicle (which is even believed to carry a refrigerated blood bank of the president's blood in the trunk) was brought to a standstill by simple human error.

Crazy Wing-suit Diving Dare-devils: ... March 15, 2013.

Ludovic Woerth and Jokke Sommers pushed their wing-suit diving luck to the limits in a "thread the eye of the needle" jump in Rio de Janiero.

Jumping from ultra-light gliders they rocketed down and between the twin towers of the 38-storey Ventura Corporate Towers, landing in a nearby park.

Do those guys have a death wish or what? It must have been one Hell-of-a-rush (even if not exactly legal).

Water Pollution Crisis Averted: ... March 11, 2013.

Chinese authorities have acted quickly to avert a major pollution problem when thousands of floating dead pigs started appearing in Shanghai's Huangpu River, which provides drinking water to many of the city's 22 million residents.

As of March 23rd the tally had reached 14,000 swollen and rotting pig carcasses retrieved from the river.

It has not yet been confirmed whether the pig deaths were caused by extreme cold weather or an animal epidemic.

Russians Nuclear Plan To Stop Meteors: ... March 13, 2013.

The meteor strike 2 weeks ago over Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountains (which injured 1,500 and caused $30 million damage) has spurred Russian scientists to consider using nuclear weapons to defend Earth.

In a scenario reminiscent of the 1998 movie Armageddon (starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck), nuclear missiles would be launched to destroy any of the 200,000-300,000 potentially dangerous asteroids out in space that might one day threaten earth.

Massive Meteorite Hits Russia: ... February 14, 2013.

Up to 1,200 people suffered minor injuries but there were no fatalities when a 10,000 tonne meteorite exploded over Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountains.

The 17-metre-diameter meteorite released up to 33 times more energy than the Hiroshima atomic bomb when it hit Earth's atmosphere travelling some 40,000 miles per hour.

The shock wave caused an estimated $32 million damage as windows shattered and building walls toppled over.

Entrepreneurial Russians quickly scrambled to find small pieces of the meteorite which might fetch up to 40 times more per gram than gold.

Convicted Killer's 4th Escape Bid Fails: ... February 27, 2013.

Convicted murderer and racketeer Panagiotis Vlastos came close to escaping his life sentence in Greek Trikala prison.

A helicopter with pilot, engineer, and two men armed with AK-47 assault rifles and explosives first attempted to rip open a wire using a dangling hook, before lowering a rope to the convict.

Vlastos managed to scramble on board the chopper but was wounded in the leg and fell out falling 10 feet back to earth.

The chopper was "hit with more than 300 bullets", and over 500 rounds were fired from the helicopter.

Vlastos gained notoriety in 2009 for master-minding the kidnapping of shipping tycoon Pericles Panagopoulos and extorting $39 million.

Man Survives Nail Shot Into Heart: ... Jan 11, 2013.

A 19 year old Argentinian carpenter was extremely lucky to survive after a nail from a nail gun pierced his chest.

The 8 cm nail pierced his sternum and lodged in the right ventricle where it acted as a plug preventing blood loss.

The surgeon in charge said "There are very few cases that we know of like this where the patient survives... The patient's family are very happy".

We'll bet they are... him too!

Bulgarian Politician Survives Gas Pistol Attack: ... January 22, 2013.

The leader of Bulgaria's Turkish minority party survived an attack from a gas-pistol wielding assailant while addressing a conference.

The attacker managed to penetrate security and point a gun at the head of the Muslim Movement for Rights & Freedoms.

It appears the weapon was a gas pistol loaded with pepper spray and wasn't intended to kill but to send a message to the politician that he "was not untouchable".

Russian Toddler Cheats Death Twice: ... January 24, 2013.

A one-year-old toddler had two miraculous escapes when the car in which she was travelling skidded and crashed into oncoming trucks.

Not only did she survive being thrown out onto the icy highway when the rear of the station wagon was ripped open by one truck... but she somehow managed to escape being run over by a second semi-trailer.

TV Stunt Goes Horribly Wrong On 4,000' Cliff: ... October 17, 2012.

A dare-devil contestant on a Norwegian TV show (a surgeon in real life) was swinging on a high-bar atop the edge of a 4,000' cliff when it collapsed.

He was sent hurtling over the cliff edge, narrowly missing jagged rocks before managing to open the safety parachute and descend to safety.

Half-Naked Russian Survives -40°C: ... Jan 20, 2013.

A 42 year old Russian man had to run for his life after falling from the back of a train in far eastern Russia.

He had gone to the rear of the train to have a smoke when he accidentally fell through a door that should have been locked.

Clad only in a T-shirt, track-suit pants, and slippers, he was lucky not to freeze to death.

He ran along the train tracks in the -40° darkness until he reached a station 7 kilometres away... and said the known presence of marauding wolf packs in the area made him run all the faster.

Apparently, his wife was not amused.

Assassin with James Bond Style Weapons Arrested: ... November 28, 2012.

South Korean authorities have revealed the 3 James Bond style weapons being carried by a North Korean would-be assassin arrested recently.

Two were disguised as "Parker" pens. One hid a fine hypodermic needle which injected poison that causes paralysis, suffocation, and instant death. The second contained a single bullet that fired and released a fatal nerve poison powder into the skin.

The third spy weapon was a torch that could accurately fire 3 bullets.

The intended target was North Korean defector Park Sang-hak who now actively campaigns by releasing propaganda bearing helium filled balloons to fly over North Korea.

Pubic Hair Solves 17 Year Old Murder: ... November 16, 2012.

A single pubic hair collected and saved from a murder scene in 1995 was recently re-examined using the latest forensic techniques and resulted in the arrest of the murderer.

Pretty 18 year old student Stephanie Fauviaux was strangled in the bathtub of her apartment in the northern French city of Lille. The solitary hair was recovered from her bath robe.

The hair was re-examined at the request of her family and the DNA matched to a 39 year old policeman. The gendarme was arrested in Nice on the French Riviera to be indicted for murder.

Overtaking Car Gets Trashed: ... October 28, 2012.

Amazingly enough, this driver walked away from his demolished vehicle after losing control while overtaking on a busy highway and smashing head-on into a lorry.

He crawled out through what was left of the windshield. Apparently somewhere among all that wreckage there's a passenger in the back seat.

100 Ton Boulder Crushes Cars & House: ... March, 2012.

A massive boulder weighing over 100 tons and 27 feet in diameter has come loose an hurtled down a hillside in Athens, Ohio USA .... crushing 2 cars and a house, and destroying power and water utilities.

Fortunately no one was hurt in the incident.