Paraglider almost falls to ‘certain death’ before untangling parachute just in time – World News

Yanis Teriz, 35, began falling to the ground when his powered paraglider’s wing malfunctioned and his reserve parachute became tangled during a flight in Itatiba, Brazil

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Terrible moment when skydiver’s parachute fails

This is the moment a man fell nearly 2,500 feet after his powered paraglider’s wing failed and his emergency parachute became tangled.

Yanis Teriz, 35, was in Itatiba, Brazil, paragliding – powered paragliding – when a crack in his wing caused him to spiral out of control.

Dramatic footage shows him falling toward Earth as he desperately tries to unravel his reserve parachute.

Luckily, he managed to free the parachute and deployed it successfully, despite falling at hundreds of miles an hour.

Yanis, who has been flying a paramotor for ten years, said: “I’ve done a lot of flights and this is the closest I’ve come to certain death.

“In the past I’ve had small incidents like emergency landings, but nothing like that.

“I fell through the sky at great speed and if I hadn’t managed to unravel the parachute I wouldn’t be speaking to you now.

“I learned a valuable lesson from this experience, but it didn’t stop me from boarding my next flight right after.”

It comes after a paraglider died and another was seriously injured in a crash in the Scottish Highlands last year.

Sacha Dench – a scientist nicknamed “the human swan” – fell from the sky during her 3,000-mile journey.

Dan Burton, 54, who was in a separate paramotor, tragically died.

They took part in a world-first circumnavigation of mainland Britain to raise awareness of climate change.

Ms Dench had attempted to make the 3,000 mile journey to celebrate the UN climate change conference, Cop26.

Ambulance services rushed to the scene of the accident near Lochinver but Mr Burton could not be saved.

In a statement, Conservation Without Borders trustees said the accident happened in the west Highlands of Scotland near Loch Na Gainmhich.

The statement said: “We are very sorry to confirm that Dan Burton, the assisting paramotor pilot, died as a result of the accident. Sacha Dench is seriously injured and is being treated in hospital. Her injuries are serious but not life-threatening

“Both very experienced paramotorists, our thoughts are with the family of Dan Burton to whom we extend our sincere condolences.

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“Police and medical professionals were involved in the incident and an investigation is ongoing to determine the details of the accident.”

Ms Dench was dubbed ‘the human swan’ after raising awareness of the plight of miniature swans by flying from the Russian Arctic to the UK. She also set a world record in 2016 by becoming the first woman to paramotor across the English Channel.

The British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association said it would conduct a “formal investigation” into the accident.