Quote Originally Posted by archangel View Post
Some of my theories on survival:

Burt: Everyone on the roof agreed that before Burt's zipline broke, he was very close to the other building. As a long-time climber who's used ziplines before, I can tell you that forward momentum would have carried him into the side of the building he was zipping into. He wouldn't have been on his back as some mentioned, nor on his belly (Superman style), but rather in a sitting position. Angel himself says that he only pulled up about 10 yards of rope. If Burt was close to the other building when he fell, he would have had the brunt of the rope on his side and the burned/frayed end of the rope would have been well behind him. It's very possible he could have grabbed the zip line, bounced into the side of the building, and fallen a much lesser height than we assume.
It was me who said he would be laying on his back. Which is true, but slightly inaccurate. The harness would have be attached to the line at the waist. As they are sliding down they would be in more of a seated position, but leaning backwards in order to move forward. If they lean forward, they would rub their shoulder/face on the line. When the rope snapped, his descent would be in relatively the same position meaning he would either stand up in the air, or end up prone and laid out with his back to the ground.

The major deciding factor would be the harness and how they worked, and also if he was able to get to the rope/attempt to grab at the rope.