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Paragliding is already a stressful adventure, even for the most experienced thrill junkie.
One glider, however, is lucky to be alive after a small plane collided with her, sending her spiralling as she soared over the Austrian Alps on Saturday.
The incident took place above the Piesendof area of Salzburg, Austria, when a plane operated by a 28-year-old pilot struck the 44-year-old paraglider, according to Zalzburg State Police, per NBC News .
Police said the plane damaged the paraglider, prompting the woman to deploy her reserve parachute.
The woman made an emergency landing and was later airlifted by a police helicopter, local news outlet Kronen Zeitung reported.
Both she and the pilot weren’t seriously injured, police said.
🚨 WATCH: A paraglider gets hit by a Cessna 172 near the Austrian town of Zell am See.
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 24, 2026
The paraglider was able to pull her rescue parachute and land safely shortly after the incident on Saturday.
According to police, the 44-year-old Austrian had started from Schmittenhöhe in… pic.twitter.com/HYQ7euRu57
Collision captured on video
The paraglider, who only identified herself as Sabrina, shared a video of the collision on Instagram .
In the clip, Sabrina can be seen gliding alongside the Schmittenhöhe mountain region in northern Austria when the sound of an engine can be heard in the background. A white plane then enters the view and tears through the glider just above the woman.
Sabrina then spins out of control while losing altitude before reaching for a handle and pulling it. Her emergency parachute then opens as her descent slows.
The woman can be heard screaming something, but her voice is muffled by the wind. Her shredded glider trails behind her, still attached to her harness.
She unharnesses her feet as she falls rapidly, before touching down on some grass while narrowly avoiding some shrubs.
The video clip ends with Sabrina taking off her gear and catching her breath.
On Instagram, Sabrina said the collision happened on her birthday.
“I actually still can’t believe that I’m sitting here typing this,” she wrote. “And apart from a few nasty bruises and bruises all around, nothing really happened.”