Why didn't Emperor Palpatine use a lightsaber to prevent his fall into the pit?

Darth Vader threw Emperor Palpatine to a pit. Well, there are lots of pit falls in Star Wars, but unlike other times, Palpatine wasn't injured or unconscious when he was thrown.

Why didn't he simply prevent his fall using his lightsaber (I have seen such action in Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series lots of time) and make his way out?