Guarantee the pilot never saw the tow line, I hope the paraglide passenger bought a lotto ticket as soon as he got down. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFKsk8mPnPQ]Paragliding incident - airplane almost crash to my towing line - YouTube[/ame]
That prolly would have sliced right through the wing.... Need a bunch of fluorescent red balls on the line...
I smell a faint whiff of BS. Or maybe it just isn't nearly as close in 3 dimensions as it looks like in 2D. I think the angle of the camera looking down makes it look closer than it was, because it's difficult to tell how high the airplane is relative to the camera position. Also, I would think you'd see a physical reaction, the guys legs start to flail or reaching for a release cable. I know my sphincter would tighten up tight as I braced for a wild ride, IF I thought there was a chance it would hit the cable.
So what's going on? Don't think that is a 'tow line'... Is he on a paraglider that's teathered to the ground, like a kite? Doesn't look like there is a quick release on that cable...
I saw on another forum that I was attached to a winch, don't know if the winch was on the back of a vehicle or the ground.
That's crazy! Never seen them tethered like that. I'm assuming there is a NOTAM that pilot didn't read.
Weird. Would there be a NOTAM for a guy flying on a kite? He's probably not up there for days. Looks more like the guy decided to do this on his own.
I'm pretty sure there are rules for obstacles that can damage aircraft. Tethered balloons, hot air balloons, model rockets, parachute jumping usually always have a notam. I have no idea what they base it on, but I can only imagine the fuss when the Feds see that video.
Good point, but hard to tell. There's just not that much general aviation going on over there. Plane looks like it could be European. Still can't believe how close he got to that cable. ...ah, it says Sweden.
