WATCH: American paraglider crashes into cliff face in Swiss Alps
An American paraglider crashed into a cliff face as he soared through the Swiss Alps. The frightening incident was caught on his body camera.
Greg Overton was taking a scenic flight at Lauterbrunnen when he diced with disaster as he suddenly lost control of his parachute.
He was thrown into the cliff face, which left his helmet split in two and resulted in a minor leg fracture. But he somehow survived without any major injuries and was able to land safely.
Overton told the story himself beneath the YouTube video which he posted online.
"I was flying from the launch in Mürren, Switzerland.
"The wind on launch was calm, but the day’s conditions called for little thermic activity and moderate valley winds. Overall, not really any alarm bells.
"Other pilots in our group had already flown from Mürren, and there were many solo and tandem pilots flying in the valley. Around 10 minutes into the flight, we were flying approximately 500m over the valley floor and very near the western rock face of the valley.
"We flew over a bench in the rock approximately 40m wide. This bench was actually producing quite a lot of lift, so I made a few passes. I experienced a massive loss of control of my glider resulting in a crushingly hard impact with the rock wall.
"Miraculously, I was still conscious and the glider was flying. I was able to land normally. I packed up my gear and walked 4km to the train station, boarded a train back to Interlaken, and made my way to the hospital."
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Greg Overton was taking a scenic flight at Lauterbrunnen when he diced with disaster as he suddenly lost control of his parachute.
He was thrown into the cliff face, which left his helmet split in two and resulted in a minor leg fracture. But he somehow survived without any major injuries and was able to land safely.
Overton told the story himself beneath the YouTube video which he posted online.
"I was flying from the launch in Mürren, Switzerland.
"The wind on launch was calm, but the day’s conditions called for little thermic activity and moderate valley winds. Overall, not really any alarm bells.
"Other pilots in our group had already flown from Mürren, and there were many solo and tandem pilots flying in the valley. Around 10 minutes into the flight, we were flying approximately 500m over the valley floor and very near the western rock face of the valley.
"We flew over a bench in the rock approximately 40m wide. This bench was actually producing quite a lot of lift, so I made a few passes. I experienced a massive loss of control of my glider resulting in a crushingly hard impact with the rock wall.
"Miraculously, I was still conscious and the glider was flying. I was able to land normally. I packed up my gear and walked 4km to the train station, boarded a train back to Interlaken, and made my way to the hospital."
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