Video Captures Terrifying Moment A Skydiver’s Parachute Snags On Plane’s Tail At 15,000 Feet
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian crash investigators on Thursday released dramatic footage showing a skydiver’s parachute wrapping around the tail of the plane, leaving him dangling at 4,500 meters (15,000 feet).
In the incident that started at Tully Airport in Queensland state on September 20, parachutist Adrian Ferguson saved himself with a hook knife and was slightly injured in his leg. The pilot and 16 other paratroopers in the Cessna Caravan that day were uninjured.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau released the video along with its report on its investigation into the crash.
The plane had reached the desired altitude where the paratroopers planned to make a 16-way jump. While the others were jumping, the 17th paratrooper was waiting at the open door to record a video.
The report stated that Ferguson left the plane when his reserve parachute cord became caught in the wing flap.
The parachute released and immediately pulled Fergson backwards. He pushed the camera operator away from the plane and sent it into free fall. Ferguson’s legs then became tangled around the canal after he hit the track’s horizontal stabilizer, leaving him dangling.
Ferguson used a knife to cut 11 lines that allowed him to fall from the plane along with part of the torn parachute.
He released his fully inflated main parachute and landed safely, although it became entangled in the remnants of his reserve parachute.
Meanwhile, most of the other paratroopers had jumped. The pilot was left with two parachutists fighting to control the plane, with part of the parachute still wrapped around the tail.
The pilot made a distress call and prepared for rescue by attaching his emergency parachute. However, Brisbane air traffic officials ruled that he had sufficient control of the plane to land safely at Tully. It landed without incident.
“Although not a legal requirement, carrying a hook knife can be life-saving if the reserve parachute is prematurely deployed,” said Angus Mitchell, the bureau’s chief commissioner.
