Terrifying footage shows how a first-time hang glider was forced to cling on for dear life throughout a flight after his pilot apparently forgot to strap him in.
The heart-stopping video is from YouTuber Chris Gursky’s first day on holiday in Switzerland, when the activity turned into a dramatic near-death experience.
He was forced to hang on for his life after taking off from a mountain edge as the pilot desperately tries to steer him towards the ground as quickly as possible before he loses grip.
Seconds after taking off, Mr Gursky and his instructor realise he is not strapped in correctly. Mr Gursky grabs hold of a metal bar and the instructor's back as they glide high over fields and trees.
As they finally begin to descend the YouTuber, who is also a photographer, manages to grab hold of the pilot’s leg but begins losing grip on the metal bar.
The nail-biting footage, uploaded to YouTube on Monday, shows the passenger’s struggle to keep hold of the bar as the pair make their emergency descent.
After an intense two-minute flight they get close enough to the ground so that Mr Gursky can let go. He said he suffered a fracture in his wrist and tore his left bicep in the fall.
Of the injuries he suffered, Mr Gursky said: “it beats the alternative”.
The YouTuber said he would even dare to go hang gliding again, saying he plans to have another go because “I did not get to enjoy my first flight”.
Mr Gursky said that while the pilot made a “critical error” by not attaching him to the glider, “he did all he could to get me down to the ground as quickly as possible”.
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The dramatic footage was uploaded to YouTube on Monday, but it was not immediately clear when or where the incident happened in Switzerland.
