Chris Gursky American Vlogger Survives 'Deadly' Hang Gliding Flight Date of Birth: . Country: USA

1. Chris Gursky: Surviving a Near-Death Hang Gliding Experience
2. A Daring Battle for Survival
3. Hanging by a Thread
4. A Shot at Salvation
5. Aftermath and Healing
6. Praise for the Instructor, No Regrets
7. Public Reaction and Criticism

Chris Gursky: Surviving a Near-Death Hang Gliding Experience

American Chris Gursky narrowly survived a harrowing hang gliding flight in Switzerland when his Swiss instructor neglected to strap him in and took him thousands of feet into the air. The auto parts manager, photographer, and videographer was on vacation in Switzerland when he decided to try hang gliding for the first time. What was supposed to be an exhilarating experience turned into a life-threatening ordeal that was captured on camera and later shared by Gursky in a video titled "Swiss Mishap."

A Daring Battle for Survival

After taking off from a mountain precipice at 1200 meters, Gursky hung for 2 minutes and 14 seconds, clinging with one hand to the trapeze bar and reaching for his instructor with the other as the latter desperately tried to land the glider and prevent him from falling. "I just kept trying to stay calm and not lose my life," Gursky recounted on Good Morning America. "I only looked down once, and the thought that flashed through my head was, 'I'm going to die. I'm dead.'"

Hanging by a Thread

Donning a checkered shirt and white helmet, Gursky, a novice hang glider, realized he was untethered moments after takeoff. "I grabbed onto the trapeze and held on for as long as I could," he said. As they soared over a cluster of trees, Gursky watched in horror as the glider gained altitude. The instructor desperately grabbed him with his left hand, saving him from certain death. "My grip was fading fast, and my hand was slipping. I grabbed hold of the instructor's pants leg and that's all I could do," Gursky said.

A Shot at Salvation

As the glider descended enough for a jump to be feasible, the videographer took his chance and plummeted to the ground in the Swiss town of Interlaken. Gursky suffered a torn ligament in his left arm and underwent surgery on his right wrist, where he had broken his distal radius in the hard landing. He posted a video of his harrowing experience on YouTube.

Aftermath and Healing

"After I landed, I just wildly guessed that I was in the air for about five minutes," Gursky recalled. "As soon as I hit the ground, I knew something was wrong. My wrist was broken." "I literally hung on for my life for 134 seconds! Landing was rough, but I survived to share the story." Surgeons inserted a titanium plate and seven screws into Gursky's wrist, and he was released from the hospital the day after surgery.

Praise for the Instructor, No Regrets

Despite the incident, Gursky praised the pilot and said he would not give up hang gliding. "His critical mistake was not hooking me into the glider during the pre-flight check, but he did everything he could to get us on the ground as quickly as possible," the American said. "He grabbed my harness and controlled the glider with one hand." "No, I will hang glide again because I don't feel like I got to enjoy it the first time."

Public Reaction and Criticism

Viewers on YouTube were stunned and hailed Gursky as "Superman." "Holy moly, I was on the edge of my seat the whole video... Glad you're okay," commented Dustin Blanchard. "I've always wondered what would happen if you weren't properly connected... Now I know." Nelson's Wings YouTube channel added, "Your strength is outstanding, superhuman. Your focus and will to survive were awesome." However, some expressed outrage and stated that pilots like the one Gursky had should be banned from flying. Zoran Allen said, "He should have immediately landed the glider. End of story. Anyone else would have just fallen and died." "Chris had a two-minute fight to the death with the equipment and the strong winds. It's simply a miracle, nothing less." Peter M. Donkers added, "For the record... I understand you are happy the pilot saved your life. But that should not exonerate his unforgivable mistake. He is like a bungee jumping operator that forgets to check the cord." "It's such an incredibly simple thing to do: checking whether you are hooked in." Donkers concludes, "People who forget to do just that are the number one killers in hang gliding. In my opinion, the pilot should have a hard look in the mirror and ask himself whether he wants to continue." Chris Gursky remains steadfast. "That's water under the bridge," he told Cross Country magazine. "He did everything he could and then some. He's a good guy."