Heart-stopping video shows the moment a skydiver’s parachute got caught on a plane’s tail — leaving him dangling 15,000 feet in the air.
The parachuter was climbing out the door preparing to jump out over North Queensland, Australia when the handle for his reserve parachute hooked onto a partially extended wing flap, causing it to deploy as he jumped, hair-raising footage shows.
The reserve parachute then became entangled on the aircraft’s tail, leaving the man desperately flailing from the back of the speeding jet, video from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) shows.
The man damaged the Cessna Caravan’s left stabilizer and the pilot, unaware what had just happened, recalled feeling the aircraft suddenly “pitch up,” and observed the airspeed rapidly decreasing, said ATSB’s chief commissioner Angus Mitchell Thursday, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Believing the aircraft had stalled, the pilot “pushed forward on the control column and applied power in response” in order to regain control, Mitchell said.
In response, thirteen parachuters who were still on board quickly bailed from the plane.
Two others stayed behind until the man caught on the tail frantically used a knife to cut 11 lines from the reserve parachute, causing it to tear and freeing him from the plane.
The skydiver then deployed his main parachute and landed safely with the others, suffering only minor injuries, the ATSB said.
The pilot, still unable to regain full control, declared a “mayday” distress call to air traffic controllers and prepared to jump out of the plane himself. But after descending about 2,500 feet the pilot felt confident he could land safely and proceeded to do so.
The incident occurred over Tully airport, some 1,000 miles north of the Queensland capital, Brisbane, on September 20 with members of Queensland’s Far North Freefall Club.
One of the 17 skydivers aboard was a camera operator captured the terrifying incident on film and provided it to investigators, officials said.
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