A first-time hang-glider had a near death experience after the pilot forgot to properly secure his harness. Chris Gursky, a tourist from Florida, was left clinging to the hang-glider for more than two minutes as he thought he faced certain death. The heart-stopping footage, captured on a GoPro camera, shows Chris and the pilot running and taking off from a 4,000ft mountain edge.
Picture of Cris Inside The Hospital After The Broken Wrist
As they take off, it becomes immediately clear that something is seriously wrong as Chris is left dangling and clinging on to the bar and pilot for dear life. The pilot struggles to maintain control and steer – with one hand on Chris and the other on the bar – as he desperately looks for a place to make an emergency landing. They fly low over homes and then veer over treetops as they gain altitude and approach a valley with mountains and a bright blue lake in the distance.
By now the pilot has regained control as Chris holds onto his leg and the bar, fearing he won’t be able to maintain his grip for much longer. The pair are whipped by the wind as they approach a field and land at about 45mph. The landing was rough, but Chris lived to tell the story.
Chris’s “near death experience” – on the first day of his trip to Switzerland – left him with a broken wrist and torn bicep, but the outcome could have been much worse. Despite his harrowing experience, Chris is determined to go hang-gliding again and has even joked about trying base jumping next. He wrote on YouTube, where the GoPro clip, titled “Swiss Mishap”, has more than half a million views: “My first time Hang Gliding turned into a near death experience as my safety harness was never hooked to the Glider. For 2 Min. 14 seconds I had to hang on for my life! The landing was a rough one, but I lived to tell the story.”
This terrifying incident serves as a reminder of the importance of proper safety protocols and equipment checks before engaging in any extreme sports activities. It also highlights the bravery and quick thinking of the pilot who was able to regain control of the aircraft and make an emergency landing, potentially saving Chris’s life.
