A woman making only her second parachute jump plunged nearly 10,000 feet and landed on her back in a marsh when her chute malfunctioned.

Then she got up and apologized to her sky-diving instructor."It's the strangest reaction I've ever seen," said Kevin Killin, an instructor at the Newmarket Skydiving School.

Sharon McClelland, 26, of Newmarket was making her second parachute jump - her first free-fall - when her chute only partially opened Saturday. She did not open her backup parachute, but her partially open chute slowed her descent enough to save her life.

"If I really knew what was happening, I don't think I would have made it," she said.

McClelland was treated for bruises and released.

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"I had no doubt that some great big angels were guiding her down into a marshy area," said her father, Jack McClelland.

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