Miracle survival: Plane hits paraglider mid-air - VIDEO

An Austrian paraglider has captured the terrifying moment a small scenic airplane ripped directly through her canopy in a midair collision thousands of feet above the Alps.

The 44-year-old experienced paraglider, identified online as Sabrina, was soaring over the picturesque Piesendorf area of Salzburg on Saturday when disaster struck. A 28-year-old pilot conducting a scenic flight collided with her, later telling local authorities that he was completely unable to avoid her, News.Az reports, citing NBC News.

Avusturya’da bir yamaç paraşütçüsüne uçak çarptı.pic.twitter.com/pNnsh691Z6

— BPT (@bpthaber) May 25, 2026

The Salzburg State Police confirmed that the airplane’s propeller severely shredded the fabric of the paraglider, sending the woman into a sudden, violent spiral.

A Lifesaving Move: Showing incredible composure under extreme pressure, the woman managed to deploy her reserve safety parachute. Viral footage shared to her Instagram account shows her calmly reaching for the emergency handle just moments after the white aircraft tears through her gear.

The backup chute deployed flawlessly, slowing her rapid descent. Although the shredded remains of her original glider trailed behind her in pieces, she successfully freed her feet from the harness and managed a rough landing on a grassy mountain patch, narrowly missing a large shrub.

A police helicopter quickly airlifted her from the mountainside. Miraculously, both the paraglider and the airplane pilot escaped the high-altitude accident without serious injury.

Reflecting on the near-death experience on social media, she noted that she walked away with little more than minor bruises. "I actually still can’t believe that I’m sitting here typing this," she wrote.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada