Paraglider's worst fears come true as a plane slices through her canopy mid-air. She had seconds to save herself
You can see the 44-year-old woman panicking to unlock her safety chute mid-air, while freefalling for 10 seconds
High above the Austrian Alps, what was supposed to be a simple Saturday afternoon filled with sightseeing turned into a fight for survival. On May 23, 2026, a 44-year-old woman, whose name remains unknown, was gliding peacefully over the Pinzgauer Hütte in Piesendorf when something unexpected happened, as per Kronen Zeitung. Without a warning, a small plane piloted by a 28-year-old man from Tyrol struck her from behind. The aircraft's propeller sliced through her canopy, making her worst nightmare come true.
A free fall
As soon as the collision occurred between the paraglider's parachute and the plane, she began to drop toward the ground at full speed. In a clip shared by NBC News, you can see the woman panicking after the crash, trying to deploy her emergency parachute. However, initially, she's not able to do so, as she is free-falling for about 10 seconds or so. After this, she is eventually able to manage the situation. She managed to free her feet from the harness, as she narrowly avoided a shrub and landed on the grass of a forest road after dropping down for at least 2 more minutes.
An unlikely victory
Although the clip ended with her trying to remove her gear upon landing, there were further updates on her health. According to a police spokeswoman, the woman did sustain minor injuries. So, she did have to get some medical treatment, which she apparently did on her own. This came after she was flown by a police helicopter to Zell am See Airport. As for the pilot, he was flying from Glemm Valley to Zell am See, and was able to land his plane safely at its destination despite the mid-air collision. Following this unfortunate incident, he also stated that when he saw the woman, it was impossible to avoid the crash.
This was a rare occurrence
Nonetheless, this was a rare incident in which a paraglider collided with an aircraft. In fact, according to Zipdo, only 12% out of all the paragliding incidents are mid-air collisions, as per USHPA data. Out of these too, most of these accidents happen between two paragliders, making this incident even rarer. Meanwhile, stalling remains the biggest cause of accidents in paragliding, with almost 28% of accidents happening because of it, according to BHPA's 2022 data. At the same time, 35% of total accidents were caused by a poor launch technique, per an FAI safety study. These stats paint the reality of paragliding and how unforgiving the sky can be at times.
Viewers double-down on drills
People in the comments section of a video posted about the same incident by @straits_times were happy to see both parties come out of this without major injuries. @iigo_tomoe wrote, "So glad she survived this accident by her fast reaction. Adrenaline kicking in while opening the second parachute."At the same time, @vertigovirgoz was surprised that the pilot couldn't spot the woman well ahead. "How can a light aircraft pilot miss such bright colours, forget his glasses?" they commented.
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