Dizzying moment a paraglider slips through the harness and clings to the instructor during a trip over a cliff at a holiday resort in Turkey
- Video shows a paraglider taking off from a hillside on the Black Sea coast
This is the dizzying moment a paraglider slipped through his harness and clung on to his instructor as they plunged off a cliff at a vacation spot in Turkey.
The footage shows the couple taking off from a picturesque hillside location on Turkey’s Black Sea coast.
The problem starts immediately after they take off from the ground, with the glider making desperate hand movements as the flying machine sways from side to side.
Onlookers on the slope can be heard voicing concern as the instructor carefully turns before apparently landing.
Video shows emergency services and event organizers huddled around the couple on the lawn as a woman walks away crying.
The problem starts immediately after they take off from the ground, with the glider making desperate hand movements as the flying machine sways from side to side.
Turkish media reported that the passenger, whose name has not been identified, suffered minor abrasions but was otherwise uninjured.
The incident took place at the 5th Kapikaya International Nature Sports Festival, in the Bafra district of Samsun province, in the north-central part of the country.
Turkey attracts paragliding enthusiasts from all over the world, with Oludeniz, Babadag Mountain and Pamukkale among the favorite spots.
In April, a British man was arrested in Turkey after a fatal mid-air collision with another paraglider.
Thomas Aitken, 45, is said to have been detained by police after 30-year-old Orkut Baysal died following his mid-air disaster.
The terrifying accident amid windy conditions occurred in the Fethiye district of Turkey, in the Mugla province.
The images show the paraglider taking off with a passenger from a picturesque hillside location on Turkey’s Black Sea coast. After a brief dance with death, the glider is carefully swung before seemingly landing.
The video shows emergency services and event organizers huddled around the couple on the lawn as a woman walks away sobbing.
Baysal, who was on Turkey’s national paragliding team, had jumped from about 5,580 feet above sea level when the disaster struck, according to local reports.
He had jumped with fellow Turkish national paraglider Andac Ünsal, 45, as part of a tandem flight at the same time Aitken was performing a solo jump.
During the descent of the professional paragliders, Baysal and Aitken collided and both men plummeted onto the roof of a hotel before landing on the edge of the resort’s pool.
Some reports in the Turkish media said that the two parachutes became entangled in the collision, only 65 feet above the ground.
Local police and doctors were dispatched to the crash site and the paragliders were taken to Fethiye State Hospital for treatment.
Baysal died of multiple injuries, while bBoth Aitken and Ünsal were reportedly injured, but not with life-threatening injuries.
