A paraglider has gone viral after surviving a mid-air collision with a small plane that tore through their parachute during a flight in Austria.
The clip, shared on Instagram, shows the moment a single-engine Cessna 172 ripped straight through the paraglider’s parachute, sending them into freefall.
Immediately after the incident, the clip shows the paraglider deploying an emergency reserve parachute and safely reaching the ground.
In a post accompanying the footage, the paraglider, known only as Sabrina, said: “I still can’t quite believe I’m sitting here typing this and, apart from a few nasty bruises and some general contusions, nothing really happened.”
Paraglider says incident will go through “proper legal channels”
In a follow-up statement, Sabrina thanked the local paragliding community in Zell am See, Austria, along with the manufacturer of their reserve parachute, which they credited with saving their life.
They also addressed several questions that emerged after the clip spread online. Sabrina said they were legally flying in the area at the time of the incident.
“I actually still can’t believe that I’m sitting here typing this,” Sabrina said in her Instagram post.
They also claimed that powered aircraft in the area are obligated to give way to paragliders and other aircraft circling in thermals, while noting that the pilot of the plane also landed safely.
The paraglider added that they know the identity of the pilot involved and said the situation would proceed through “the proper legal channels, officially and without drama.”
The statement also pushed back against online comments blaming either party for the accident.
“There are rules, and accidents still happen,” they wrote. “Perhaps all of this will help everyone fly a little more attentively.”
They additionally said the incident convinced them to begin using FLARM technology in future flights. FLARM is a collision warning system commonly used in gliders and light aircraft to help pilots detect nearby traffic.
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