People: Jul. 21, 1986

Getting 100 people to hold hands for a few seconds hardly seems an overwhelming challenge; after all, Hands Across America assembled nearly 5 million for 15 min. But when they are free falling from three miles up, it is a world's record. Over the Fourth of July weekend Guy Manos and Tom Piras of Deland, Fla., headed a group of sky diving aficionados who gathered in Muskogee, Okla., to have a go at breaking their 1983 record of 72 parachutists in cluster formation. Even though 24 previous attempts had ended in failure, hopes were high as the sky divers boarded three...

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