Overview
- A sightseeing Cessna 172 struck a paraglider's canopy on Saturday near Schmittenhöhe/Piesendorf, shredding the wing and sending the pilot into an uncontrolled spin.
- The 44-year-old paraglider deployed her emergency reserve parachute, landed on a forest road with only bruises and contusions, and was flown to a local airport by a police helicopter for checks.
- The light aircraft, piloted by a 28-year-old on a scenic flight, returned and landed at Zell am See Airport and the pilot told police he could not avoid the paraglider while investigators have not announced any findings.
- The collision was recorded on the paraglider's helmet camera and posted to Instagram by the pilot, and the footage has circulated widely, driving major media attention.
- The incident spotlights the safety risks where tourist flights and recreational paragliding share low mountain airspace and is likely to prompt local operational and regulatory review as investigators seek to establish what happened.