Terrifying Video: US Tourist Nearly Falls to Death When Hang Glider Pilot Forgets to Attach Harness

[MULTIZ321]

Terrifying Video: US Tourist Nearly Falls to Death When Hang Glider Pilot Forgets to Attach Harness
By Danielle Vito/ News/ The Points Guy/ thepointsguy.com

"An elementary mistake made by a Swiss hang gliding pilot had a US tourist holding on for his life — and it was all caught on camera. Chris Grusky, an auto-parts manager from Florida, decided to kick off his trip to Switzerland with a thrill-seeking experience on the very first day, but it didn’t quite go as expected.

The horrifying video starts with Grusky and the pilot looking over the popular tourist area of Interlaken before running off the 4,000-foot mountain. Once the pair took off, they quickly realized something had gone terribly wrong. The pilot never attached the tourist’s harness to the glider.

For more than two minutes, Grusky was freely hanging, with the bar grasped in one hand and the pilot’s leg in the other. The pilot tried to hold on to him as he steered the glider and attempted an abrupt landing. The pilot had only gone into the business a year ago, according to the operator of another Swiss hang gliding company.

“I looked down once and I thought to myself: This is it, I’m going to fall to my death. I’m a goner,” Grusky said on Good Morning America....."

Richard

 

[klpca]

Well, that was terrifying. Omg.

 

[Blues]

I took hang gliding lessons for a couple of years when I was younger. Reached Hang 2 rating. In dealing with a couple of different schools and talking to numerous pilots and teachers, I've never heard of such negligence. Checking our harness attachment was part of the pre-flight that was drilled into us, drilled in again, and re-checked by the instructors. I'd be surprised if that teacher retained his license. I would expect any US instructor to lose his license for that.

 

[pedro47]

I just watch that video. That pilot should lose his license and be sued.for negligence to the maximum allow in that country IMHO.

 

[AnnaS]

Yikes~!!!

I don't understand - how did the passenger come to realize he was not hooked on. Did the pilot just happen to remember he did not hook the strap on his passenger and after they took off, told him to hang on for his dear life?

 

[presley]

It is hard to hold on to a bar for that long without flying. He is a superhero.

 

[Laurie]

Can't believe he's talking about hang gliding again, rather than sueing. I probably would have died from a heart attack. Sounds like the pilot is still flying!

 

[clifffaith]

I saw the video last night on the news. I have no clue how the pilot could forget to connect his passenger! Seems to me pilot should be fired, that is inexcusable.

 

[DaveNV]

This kind of thing is one of the major reason I'll never go hang gliding, go up in a hot air balloon, or go sky diving. As a kid I had major nightmares for years about falling to my death. Still scares the dickens out of me.

But I love to fly in airplanes. So weird...

Dave