Belo Horizonte, MG (UOL/Folhapress) – Paragliding was swallowed by a cloud, rose at 8,600 meters in altitude and survived an accidental flight in China.
PENG YUJIANG, 55, did not plan to fly, but was surprised by a strong wind while performing soil training. The case happened last Saturday (24), in Qilian, northwest China, but the images viralized this week. The information is from the Chinese state portal Sixth Tone.
After 20 minutes of forced takeoff, Peng was eventually sucked by a cloud. He was taken to an altitude of 8,598 meters, near the time when commercial planes fly. The man faced a temperature of -40ºC and had to survive the thin air without wearing a supplementary oxygen mask.
Videos show the pilot in the air, covered with ice. “I missed oxygen. My hands were frozen. I kept trying to talk on the radio,” Peng said in one of the records published on Douyin, the Chinese Tiktok, according to Sixth Tone.
More than an hour later, Peng managed to land safely, 33 kilometers from where he had taken off. He had no serious injuries and is recovering from the episode.
According to Chinese standards, paragliding flights should receive prior authorization from local air traffic control. The Gansu Province Air Sports Association reported that PENG’s flight had not been officially approved. The episode was treated by the association as an accident, and the pilot was licensed to suspended for six months.
