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Video shows tourist clinging for life onto hang glider in Switzerland

Florida man recounts hang glider close call
Man recounts hang glider close call: "I probably had 5 seconds left in me" 03:01

A nerve-wracking piece of video shows a tourist clinging for life onto a hang glider in Switzerland. Chris Gursky's harness was not properly attached when he and a pilot launched themselves off a 4,000-foot mountain ledge.

It was his first hang gliding flight. For more than two minutes, he dangles from the hang glider, flying over trees as they head toward a large grassy landing area.

He wrote later on Facebook that he remembers looking down, thinking "this is it." Gursky said as they approached the landing area his hand began to slip while he was swinging in the wind.

Once his feet hit the ground, he was ripped away from the landing gear. He needed surgery for a broken wrist and also tore his left bicep.

Gursky had a titanium plate and seven screws installed in his arm before leaving the hospital. He ended the video with these words: "I will go Hang Gliding again as I did not get to enjoy my first flight."

To hear Gursky describe the terrifying experience, watch the video in the above player. 

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