Heart-stopping video shows the moment a skydiver’s parachute got caught on a plane’s tail -- leaving him dangling 15,000 feet in the air. The parachuter was climbing out the door preparing to jump out over North Queensland, Australia when the handle for his reserve parachute hooked onto a partially extended wing flap, causing it to deploy as he jumped, hair-raising footage shows.
The reserve parachute then became entangled on the aircraft’s tail, leaving the man desperately flailing from the back of the speeding jet, video from Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) shows.
The man damaged the Cessna Caravan’s left stabilizer and the pilot, unaware what had just happened, recalled feeling the aircraft suddenly “pitch up,” and observed the airspeed rapidly decreasing, said ATSB’s chief commissioner Angus Mitchell Thursday, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). (From YouTube video description)