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In the Lake District on 4 January 1967, Donald Campbell climbed into his jet-propelled boat, Bluebird, with the aim of breaking the water speed record. But in his bid to become the first person to travel faster than 300mph his impatience got the better of him. After achieving 297mph on his first run, things took a disastrous turn during his second run. He didn't live to tell the tale.
If Campbell were racing 40 years later, he could have taken advantage of technology to help save his life ...
Crashing on water is a dangerous business. Don't be fooled into thinking that water is a soft option compared to hard land. Water is 800 times denser than air so if you hit it at speed it can do you a lot of damage.
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