[Cogadh na Sith]

I have heard that in situations like this you die before you hit the ground, blacking out from the fall, and possibly that your neck is broken from the fall, so that when you hit the ground, you are already dead.

Old Urban legend. Military High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) jumpers will jump from 25-30K feet and open below 2k feet. (sometimes lower, even).

Terminal velocity for a head-down parachutist is probably around 150 mph. Terminal velocity means that your wind resistance finally evens out your acceleration and you continue at the same velocity--no faster. Motorcycle racers routinely go that fast.

Terminal velocity for a parachutist in the usual 'relaxed frog' position is somewere around 100mph.

In short, it's not the fall, it's the really short stop at the end...

[MHGinTN]

At 150 mph, impact destruction occurs so fast that the nervous system cannot relay the signals ... the victim doesn't 'feel' it long enough to acknowledge it.