Alcides Moreno and his brother Edgar were window washers in New York City. The two Ecuadorian immigrants worked for City Wide Window Cleaning, suspended high above the congested streets, dragging wet squeegees across the acres of glass that make up the skyline of Manhattan. On 7 December 2007, the brothers took an elevator to the roof of Solow Tower, a 47-storey apartment building on the Upper East Side. Over 420,000 people die worldwide each year after falling. Falls are the second leading cause of death by injury, after car accidents. They stepped onto the 16-foot-long, three-foot-wide aluminium scaffolding designed to slowly lower them down the black glass of the building. But the anchors holding the 1,250-pound platform instead gave way, plunging it and them 472 feet to the alley below. Scientists studying falling are developing'safe landing responses' to help limit the damage from falls. If you are falling, first protect your head – 37 per cent of falls by elderly people in a study by Professor Stephen Robinovitch of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, involved hitting their heads, particularly during falls forward. Fight trainers and parachute jump coaches encourage people to try not to fall straight forward or backward. The key is to roll, and try to let the fleshy side parts of your body absorb the impact.