Austrian Alps mid-air collision caught on camera as paraglider narrowly escapes death | WATCH

An alarming midair crash over the Austrian Alps is going viral following an attack by a sightseeing aircraft which crashed into a paraglider’s canopy causing the woman to plummet to the earth until she activated her emergency parachute.

The event occurred on Saturday afternoon in northern Austria at Schmittenhöhe mountain, an area famous for its paragliding activities.

According to the police report from Salzburg State, the paraglider, a veteran female pilot aged 44 who goes by the name Sabrina, was gliding in the air with an action camera attached to herself when an airplane suddenly flew straight into her canopy.

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This shocking midair clash was recorded in video footage which later went viral online.

Plane tears through canopy mid-flight

In the video, you can see the tourist plane coming too close before cutting through the wings of the paraglider right above Sabrina’s head.

After a few seconds of splitting, she lost control and started spinning out of control. While screaming down towards the ground, Sabrina pulled out her emergency parachute, which worked as she fell.

According to the authorities, she would have died if not for her reserve chute. Salzburg police stated that Sabrina came out of the incident bruised and slightly injured.

“The propeller of the motor plane severely damaged the paraglider, prompting the experienced paraglider to deploy her reserve parachute,” police said, according to NBC News. Emergency responders transported her by helicopter for medical evaluation after she landed safely.

Pilot says collision could not be avoided

The 28-year-old pilot of the sightseeing aircraft also landed safely at Zell am See Airport following the incident.

According to Austrian authorities, the pilot later told investigators that he was unable to avoid the collision. The incident has raised fresh concerns over safety coordination in shared recreational airspace, especially in mountain regions where paragliders and low-flying tourist aircraft often operate simultaneously.

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Experts say visibility limitations and rapidly changing wind conditions in alpine regions can create additional risks for both paragliders and aircraft pilots.

“I still can’t believe I survived”

In her post to Instagram following the event, Sabrina reported that despite her encounter with the plane, she was lucky enough to suffer only bruises and contusions.

“I actually still can’t believe that I’m sitting here typing this,” she said in German, but stated that, other than suffering bruises all over her body, nothing else major had occurred. The viral video clip is causing quite a reaction on the Internet, with many viewers saying that her survival was miraculous while others wondered why both planes were on intersecting courses.

This event will undoubtedly raise debate concerning regulations and guidelines for aerial sports activities, as well as emergency procedures and airspace control in the European holiday flying regions.