Heart-stopping footage released on Thursday by Australian authorities showed the moment a skydiver was left dangling thousands of metres in the air after their parachute caught on the plane’s tail.
The skydiver survived the incident, which occurred south of Cairns during a stunt in September, but has only just been revealed following investigations by the transport safety watchdog.
Plans for a 16-way formation by parachutists at 4,600 metres (15,000 feet), filmed by a parachuting camera operator, hit chaos within seconds of the first participant reaching the plane’s exit.
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A video released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau showed the participant’s reserve parachute being activated after its handle snagged the wing flap of the plane.
The jumper was flung backwards – their legs striking the aircraft – as the orange reserve parachute wrapped itself around the plane’s tail.
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The parachuter also knocked the camera operator, who was straddling the side of the aircraft and preparing to jump, into free fall, the bureau said in a report that did not include names, ages or genders.