A skydiver is lucky to be alive after surviving a terrifying moment. He was preparing to skydive when his parachute got caught on the plane's tail.
The incident left him dangling more than 15,000 feet over open sky. The incident was captured on video. It showed the skydiver trying to parachute over North Queensland in Australia. He was preparing to jump out and climbed out the door. That's when the handle for his reserve parachute caught on the wing flap of the tail-end of the plane
It caused it to deploy while the skydiver was dangling from the plane. The parachute got tangled up in the tail of the plane. The skydiver frantically flailed at the end of the plane as it flew through the sky. It wasn't just a risk to the skydiver but everyone that was on board as well.
Skydiver Survives
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the skydiver's parachute caused damage to the Cessna Caravan's left stabilizer. At the time, the pilot was unaware of what was going on with the skydiver. However, the plane suddenly went upwards and speed started to decrease as well, according to ATSB's chief commissioner, Angus Mitchell.
"Upon being told there was a skydiver hung up on the tailplane, they reduced power again," he said. "The pilot assessed they had limited pitch control, given the substantially damaged tailplane, which still had a portion of the reserve parachute wrapped around it."
The pilot declared the emergency to air traffic control and began a slow descent.
"In difficult circumstances, the pilot managed to control the aircraft and land safely at Tully," Mitchell said.
13 skydivers on board jumped from the aircraft and deployed their parachutes. The skydiver caught on the tail end used a knife to free himself. He then deployed his mainchute suffering only minor injuries.
