The Norwegian company, which provides life-saving equipment to the shipping industry, said a 70 passenger GES50 MKIII was intentionally dropped 40 metres.
There were 10 people on board.
"The feeling of being weightless for more than 3 seconds of time felt like forever, although the wait up until the actual drop felt much longer," said Norsafe Academy Rosendal vice president Michael Rossland.
The test was carried out at the company's testing and training centre in Rosendal, Norway, which has a tower that can perform free fall boats from 60 metres up, although manned testing is limited to 40 metres.
Nonetheless, Norsafe also holds the record for an unmanned lifeboat drop – a 66.8-metre plunge involving a GES52 model.
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