Sergeant Welch, a Pennsylvania prison guard and an experienced skydiver, is preparing to jump from the plane when he spots a fellow corrections officer, the blind Officer Chest in the line of jumpers. The Sergeant notices that blind Officer Chest is dragging along a prisoner on a heavy chain. The inmate, is shackled, blindfolded and gagged. He seems to have stopped struggling and to be unaware of his lofty circumstances. Bemused that a blind man is going to attempt to skydive, Sergeant Welch strikes up a conversation. "Hi, Chest, it's me, Welch." After exchanging pleasantries, Welch asks the blind man, "I can't help but wonder, being blind, how do you know when to pull the parachute cord?" "That's very easy," replies the blind guard. "The chain goes limp."