Must-See Video: G-force Snaps Hang Glider Mid-Air
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.11.16
Extreme sports are not for the faint of heart. Watching from the ground can be heart-stopping enough, but actually participating requires as special amount of gusto, especially when you factor in the danger involved.
During the Ekstremsportveko show in Voss, Norway, spectators were able to see just how quickly things can go wrong mid-air. As hang glider Jon Gjerde was making turns and pulling G-forces of 7, his glider snapped in two. This sent him plummeting downward, twirling out of control like a bug that had lost a wing.
Despite the grave appearance of the situation at hand and the dizzying spin he was in, Gjerde was able to think and react quickly. With a pull of the emergency chute, the revolution slowed gradually until the man and glider were again under control. Though completion of his decent found him in Lake Vangsvatnet, rescue crews were on hand to retrieve him from the water by boat.
On his Facebook page, Gjerde shares details of the crash, concluding that the glider may have survived the stunts with thicker rigging wires. Currently, he is experiencing severe bloodshot eyes, eye soreness, and headaches, but he is expected to make a full recovery.
