Dramatic footage was captured of the moment an American soldier was left hanging from a Chinook helicopter by his tip toes after being disturbed while hanging by his legs from the back of the aircraft.
In a widely circulated video, flight engineer Shane Sutton, 26, is seen casually sitting on the edge of a cliff before the helicopter, which was flying over the desert floor, dramatically crashed into a “wind pocket coming from the mountains.”
The incident occurred at the training ground in Fort Bliss, Texas, Sutton told DailyMail.com, which led to senior military officials ordering soldiers to “change policies” about sitting on the helicopter’s powerful ramps.
Fortunately, the soldier was “strapped inside” when he fell from the plane, and admitted he only sustained bruises that left him “extremely sore for a few days.”
Watch a bizarre video posted to Instagram of US Army aeronautical engineer Shane Sutton flying from the back of a plane after hanging his legs from a ramp.
After the plane crashed while the plane was moving along the desert floor, Sutton was seen hitting his head before falling dramatically from the back of the plane.
The viral footage, which was first shared in 2021 before being widely circulated in the following years, initially saw Sutton dangling his feet from the back of a $39 million Chinook helicopter.
After the 4,700-horsepower plane hit turbulence, Sutton was sent flying, hitting his head on the helicopter’s hangar roof.
He is then seen falling dramatically from behind towards the desert floor, as his fellow soldiers watch in shock.
The 26-year-old posted several photos on his social media showing him menacingly hanging from the back of planes.
While he admitted that the video did not escape the radar and was seen by “some high profile people” in the military, he said it didn’t get him into hot water.
“They let my command handle the situation,” he added, as the military hierarchy “made us change our policies.”
Whereas before soldiers had been able to perch on the ramps “freely”, Sutton said the incident meant they were instead only able to do so “if the mission dictated, such as when there was plenty of cargo inside (the Chinook)”.
Despite the embarrassing accident, Sutton, who served in the 501st Combat Aviation Brigade, insists the accident didn’t stop him from dangling his legs again.
“I still sit on the incline a lot,” he added.
Sutton has posted many photos from his army days online showing him inside military aircraft
The flight engineer admitted that the in-flight fiasco earned him several nicknames, including “Slingload Sutton” and “Sky Surfer”.
Sutton, who is from El Paso, Texas, served one tour in Europe, before being sent on a tour to Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, which he said on Instagram was “a good spread with so many amazing memories.”
According to his social media, Sutton has spent more than 700 hours flying in Chinooks, including in Alaska, Afghanistan and Texas.
Referring to his widely publicized blunder, he shared online that he made his senior year a memory, after “falling out of a helicopter and going viral.”
He added, “Everyone is making fun of me for it.” “But this is cool, all my friends always send me the video.”
He added that he was given several nicknames after the fiasco, including “Slingload Sutton” and “Sky Surfer”.
Sutton served one tour in Europe, before being sent on a tour to Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan
The engineer has spent more than 700 hours flying Chinooks, including in Alaska, Afghanistan and Texas.
