A paraglider struck by a plane near Zell am See, Austria, survived after deploying her emergency parachute during a rapid mid-air fall, according to video she shared and local reports.
The woman, identified on social media only as Sabrina, posted footage dated May 23 showing a small aircraft passing close enough to tear through her paraglider canopy. The clip then shows the damaged sail collapsing as she begins dropping over the Schmittenhöhe mountain area.
What the video shows
The footage begins with the aircraft crossing into view moments before impact. After the canopy is shredded, Sabrina is left falling with little control over the damaged wing.
She then reaches for her reserve parachute, pulls it from her pack and throws it clear so it can open. That action appears to slow her descent, though the fall remains steep and uncontrolled enough to make the video difficult to watch without reconsidering several recreational hobbies.
The final moments show her coming down hard onto the ground. Despite the force of the landing, she later said she escaped with only bruises and minor knocks.
How authorities responded
Aviation reports identified the aircraft as a Cessna 172 and placed the incident near the Austrian town of Zell am See. According to reporting cited from local outlet Kronen Zeitung, a police helicopter collected Sabrina after the landing and took her to a nearby airport.
Police have not publicly determined what caused the collision. The circumstances, including how the aircraft and paraglider came into such close proximity, remain under investigation.
Sabrina says she knows how close it was
In her caption, Sabrina wrote that May 23 would now feel like a “second birthday” to her. That is not a dramatic overstatement, given the sequence shown in the video.
She said she was doing all right overall and described her injuries as limited to a few bumps and bruises. The outcome was extraordinarily lucky: her main canopy was destroyed in the air, and her survival appears to have depended on the reserve parachute opening in time.
For now, the confirmed facts are narrow but significant: a paraglider’s canopy was struck by a plane, she deployed her emergency parachute, she landed alive, and investigators are still working through how it happened.
