A late-night skydiving stunt over the heart of downtown Mexico City ended when a U.S. man’s parachute snagged on a traffic light above a major avenue, startling a few pedestrians and drivers but causing no injuries.
Authorities and local media identified the man as 36-year-old American Miles Pack, who was later taken to civic court and released without charges after officials determined there was no damage to city infrastructure.
El monitoreo del @C5_CDMX permitió identificar a un hombre que quedó atorado en un semáforo tras descender en paracaídas en Balderas y Juárez. Desde el C2 Centro Histórico dimos seguimiento preventivo y nos coordinamos con personal de @SSC_CDMX para verificar que no hubiera daños… pic.twitter.com/uy6PIRZArU
— Dr. Salvador Guerrero Chiprés (@guerrerochipres) December 9, 2025
The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the intersection of Avenida Juárez and Avenida Balderas — one block from the city’s oldest public park, the Alameda Central, which is adjacent to the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
At the time, traffic in the normally busy corridor of the Cuauhtémoc borough was sparse.
Video from the capital’s C5 surveillance system showed the skydiver landing safely on the street while his parachute remained tangled on the metal arm of the traffic light, hanging over Avenida Juárez about a two-minute walk from the Diego Rivera Mural Museum.
Images shared on social media by C5 chief Salvador Guerrero Chiprés showed two people helping the man try to free the parachute while emergency crews arrived at the scene.
The Mexico City Ministry of Citizen Security said officers checked Pack, confirmed he was uninjured and verified that the traffic signal, though left wobbly, was not damaged.
Traffic personnel briefly cordoned off the intersection while responders ensured the hanging lines and fabric did not pose a risk, and authorities said the incident did not significantly affect traffic flow at that hour.
News and police reports only say the incident happened “in the early morning” or the “madrugada” (pre-dawn hours) of Tuesday, Dec. 9 without specifying an exact time.
Local reports said Pack told officers he had jumped from a small plane to make the descent over the historic center, where skydiving is not allowed.
Officials noted that skydiving is a regulated activity and not permitted over dense urban areas in Mexico City.
After being presented to a civic judge in the Cuauhtémoc borough, Pack was released once authorities confirmed there were no injuries or material damage.
The unusual scene, which was quickly shared online via the security footage, spread widely on social media as the latest offbeat stunt in the capital.
With reports from Infobae, BBC, El Financiero and Storyful
