George H.W. Bush Goes Skydiving for His 90th Birthday

 By 
Colin Daileda
 on 
George H.W. Bush Goes Skydiving for His 90th Birthday
Former President George H.W. Bush, strapped to Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott, a retired member of the Army's Golden Knights parachute team, float to the ground during a tandem parachute jump near Bush's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, on June 12, 2014. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty

Skydiving has become something of a birthday tradition for former U.S. President George H.W. Bush.

41 celebrated his 90th birthday by leaping from a plane at a height of about 10,000 feet over Kennebunkport, Maine, on Thursday, where he spent most of his childhood. Bush suffers from Parkinson's disease, which has kept him bound to a wheelchair for most of the past year.

The former president's flight was scheduled to depart around 10:45 a.m. ET, and the weather was all clear from the start.

It's a wonderful day in Maine -- in fact, nice enough for a parachute jump.

— George Bush (@GeorgeHWBush) June 12, 2014

 

The jump went off without a hitch.

.@GeorgeHWBush marks 90th birthday with parachute jump pic.twitter.com/oA3HErVtZ2

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 12, 2014

 

You can watch video of the whole thing below (if you can stand the background noise, anyway).

Bush leapt with the U.S. Army's Golden Knights, one of whom was attached to his back, just as he has done in the past. He's gone skydiving eight times, including on his 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays.

Mashable Image
Former President George H.W. Bush leapt from the sky over College Station, Texas on June 13, 2004, in honor of his 80th birthday. Credit: Getty Images
Mashable Image
Former President George H.W. Bush free falls with U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team member Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott on Nov. 10, 2007. Credit: U.S. Army, Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Mcdaniel
Mashable Image
Former President George H. W. Bush, bottom, rode with Sgt. Michael Elliott of the Army Golden Knights parachute team as he celebrated his 85th birthday with a parachute jump on June 12, 2009, in Kennebunkport, Maine. Credit: Army Golden Knights, SSG Joe Abeln

The former president landed safely, riding in tandem with Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott, whom he's jumped with before.

Mashable Image
Former President George H.W. Bush, left, strapped to Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott, a retired member of the Army's Golden Knights parachute team, landed near Bush's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty

Two years ago, when Bush was 88, he said he had one final skydive in him.

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