Skydiver deliberately sets fire to own parachute

A US skydiver has deliberately set fire to her parachute mid-descent and relied on the back-up parachute in a head-scratching stunt.

Brianne Thompson had jumped out of a plane while flying over Eloy, Arizona, with her parachute open and a flare gun in hand when she opened fire, "killing" the parachute.

Putting herself at risk of burns as well as death, Ms Thompson starts rocketing towards the earth only to deploy the second parachute, which thankfully opens without a hitch.

Video of the stunt was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday by AXIS Flight School, where Ms Thompson is an instructor.