An Australian skydiver was left dangling from a plane at 15,000 feet after his parachute got caught on the tail of the aircraft. All landed safely.
Dec. 12 An Australian skydiver was left dangling from behind a plane at 15,000 feet after his parachute got caught on the tail of the aircraft, causing some heart-stopping moments for the jumper and the pilot.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a report and video Thursday describing the incident that happened on Sept. 20 in which a skydiver’s reserve parachute deployed as he jumped and got caught on a horizontal stabilizer of the Cessna Caravan. The skydiver and the plane were able to land safely after several harrowing moments.
Skydiver Adrian Ferguson used a hook knife to cut himself free after suffering minor leg injuries when his legs crashed into the horizontal stabilizer. He was then able to deploy his main parachute safely, though it did get tangled in the cords from the reserve chute.
The plane took off and landed at Tully Airport, an airstrip in northern Queensland. There were 16 other parachutists on the plane, and all were able to jump safely. The divers were planning to do a 16-way formation jump, with a 17th jumper filming it.
