Skydiver left hanging from plane tail; video shows dramatic escape — watch

Australian authorities connected Thursday released footage from a September incident, showing a skydiver near dangling thousands of metres successful the aerial aft their reserve parachute got caught connected the plane’s tail.

The radical had planned a 16-way enactment leap from astir 15,000 feet, southbound of Cairns. But seconds aft the archetypal jumper moved towards the exit, everything went wrong.The video shows the jumper’s reserve chute opening by mistake aft its grip snagged connected the aircraft’s helping flap. The abrupt propulsion dragged the skydiver backwards. Their legs deed the craft earlier the orangish reserve canopy wrapped itself astir the tail, leaving them hanging implicit bare air.

The unit besides knocked the camera operator, who was waiting to jump, into freefall. For a fewer moments, the skydiver appears frozen, hands connected their helmet, arsenic if trying to process what conscionable happened. Then, utilizing a hook weapon they were carrying, they chopped the tangled reserve lines and freed themselves. They deployed the main parachute and managed to onshore safely.The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said carrying a hook weapon is not mandatory, but tin beryllium lifesaving successful situations similar this.

"Carrying a hook knife, though it is not a regulatory requirement, could beryllium lifesaving successful the lawsuit of a premature reserve parachute deployment," said the bureau's main commissioner Angus Mitchell, arsenic quoted by quality bureau AFP.The aircraft’s process suffered dense harm from the impact. The aviator concisely mislaid due power and issued a mayday call, but inactive managed to bring the level down safely.