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First Time Hang-Glider Clings On For Dear Life As Flight Goes Wrong

First Time Hang-Glider Clings On For Dear Life As Flight Goes Wrong

It was the first day of Chris Gursky's holiday to Switzerland when he decided to give hang-gliding a crack...

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Whatever you do in life, there's a chance it could go wrong which explains why some people avoid risk-fuelled activities like hang-gliding. Chris Gursky isn't one of those people though... he realised that when he was holding on to the bar of a hang-glider after the pilot failed to attach him properly:

It gets worse before it gets better as well because Chris, from Florida, was trying to enjoy the first day of his holiday to Switzerland when he decided to take part in what was supposed to be a fun activity.

This soon turned into a 'near death experience' though because the pilot in charge of the hang-glider forgot to harness Chris in meaning that for an entire two minutes and 14 seconds he had to hang on with everything he had.

The pilot of the hang-glider was attempting to get them back down to safety as quickly as he could but the pair seemed to climb as they flew over trees.

As Chris, an auto-parts manager and photographer, became closer to the ground he let go, tearing his left bicep tendon.

He also had to have surgery on his right wrist after suffering a fragmented distal radius fracture which required a titanium plate and seven screws.

Chris Gursky took off before discovering the instructor failed to attach him to the hang-glider.
ViralHog

Speaking to the MailOnline back in 2018, Chris said: "My body weight shifted straight down and I found myself hanging on for my life.

"I remember looking down and thinking, this is it. I was losing grip with my right hand, that was holding onto a strap on the pilot's right shoulder. He was trying to make a bee line to the landing field as he knew what the situation could bring.

"My left hand was on the cross bar that was ultimately the landing gear, with a wheel on each side. As we were going down for a hot landing I was slowly losing my grip with my right hand as I was swinging in the wind with the glider.

"The pilot grabbed my hand, but like in the movies it was a slow motion slipping of the grip until my right hand slipped off and I grabbed another strap on his left side for a bit but this slipped off also.

"For two min. 14 seconds I had to hang on for my life! The landing was a rough one, but I lived to tell the story."

Mr Gursky had to have surgery on his wrist after a hang-gliding instructor didn't strap him in.
ViralHog

Regardless of the pilot's failure to strap him to the hang-glider, Chris did praise his efforts, saying: "While the pilot made a critical error in our pre-flight set up by not attaching me to the glider, he did all he could to get me down to the ground as quickly as possible while grabbing onto my harness and flying with one hand.

"I will go hang-gliding again as I did not enjoy my first flight."

He's going to go hang-gliding again. Let that sink in.

Featured Image Credit: ViralHog

Topics: Viral, Community