Latest news with #GansuProvincialAviationSportsAssociation
Global News
3 days ago
- General
- Global News
Paraglider accidentally sucked into clouds survives 28,000-foot flight in China
A Chinese paraglider has survived being accidentally propelled tens of thousands of feet into the sky while testing out equipment he had recently purchased. Peng Yujiang, 55, began his flight at an elevation of about 984 feet in the Qilian Mountains in northern China, according to media reports. A camera mounted on the glider captured the entire ordeal. Footage of the death-defying incident shows Peng gliding above the clouds, his face caked in chunks of ice as he attempts to make a safe descent through bouts of confusion. Peng was sucked into an updraft about 20 minutes after accidentally taking off, according to a report by the Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association. A freak updraft over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau lifted Chinese Paraglider Peng Yujiang nearly nine kilometers in minutes — and the entire flight was caught on camera. Screenshots from Peng's GPS flight tracker show he took off at 12:19 p.m. from the Qilian Mountains, an area… — Sixth Tone (@SixthTone) May 28, 2025 Story continues below advertisement The hang glider was propelled 27,800 feet into the air, but Peng had never intended to take off, the report says. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Yujiang, who has been paragliding for about four-and-a-half years, purchased his equipment without making a flight beforehand, and was testing various elements of the equipment on the ground when he was swept away, the report says. Speaking of the ordeal, he said. 'It was terrifying… Everything was white. I couldn't see any direction. Without the compass, I wouldn't have known which way I was going. I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning,' he told China Media Group. Peng was extremely fortunate to survive given the lack of oxygen at such high altitudes, the report says, noting that he narrowly escaped death, having maintained consciousness long enough to navigate through low oxygen levels and frigid temperatures. He flew only slightly lower than the peak of Mount Everest, which stands at just over 29,000 feet. 'I wanted to come down quickly, but I just couldn't. I was lifted higher and higher until I was inside the cloud,' he said, adding that he was most terrified when attempting to regain control of his paraglider against powerful winds, and that he thinks he may have lost consciousness on his way back down to earth. 'I could feel the oxygen getting thin, and my hands were freezing. They were exposed the whole time — I didn't even think to get them into my mittens,' Peng added. Story continues below advertisement On May 26, fellow paragliding enthusiast Mr. Ou stated that the man has become a mythical figure in their paragliding circle: 'He's now the person who's broken the altitude barrier. He could apply for a Guinness World Record, because no one else has reached such heights without carrying an oxygen tank.' Peng is now under investigation by Chinese authorities and has been suspended from flying for six months because his flight was unauthorized, according to China's state-run Global Times. Peng maintains that he did not plan to fly at all when he was lifted into the atmosphere by strong winds, and that he was simply testing his parachute on the ground when he was thrust into the clouds.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Climate
- USA Today
Watch Chinese paraglider accidentally fly 28,000 feet above the clouds, go viral
Watch Chinese paraglider accidentally fly 28,000 feet above the clouds, go viral A Chinese pilot has been banned from flying for six months after accidentally paragliding more than 28,000 feet above the clouds. Peng Yujiang was testing new paragliding equipment at the Qilian Mountains in China's Gansu province on May 24 when he accidentally took off into the clouds, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. Yujiang was shaking out a new parachute when a gust of wind took him airborne, CCTV said. Despite trying to reduce his altitude, Yujiang said he was sucked into a cloud, according to the outlet. The paraglider eventually regained control of the equipment and landed, according to CCTV. The outlet said Yujiang went in and out of consciousness during the flight. The Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association launched a task force to investigate the incident, and on May 28, announced it had issued Yujiang a six-month flight ban, CCTV said. Accidental paragliding flight caught on video: Watch See paraglider's terrifying flight up in the clouds A Chinese paraglider got caught up in a strong updraft, known as "cloud suck." He narrowly escaped death as oxygen gets thin at that altitude. Peng Yujiang's paragliding flight goes viral Yujiang's flight was recorded, and after the incident, another pilot posted the video to social media. It went viral, leading to the investigation, according to CCTV. The pilot who posted the video, Gu Zhimin, reportedly did so without permission, CCTV said. He was also banned from flying for six months, according to the outlet. At higher altitudes, oxygen thins out and can cause hypoxia, or oxygen starvation, in humans, which can lead to death, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Chinese paraglider survives accidental 8,000-metre-high flight above the clouds
A Chinese paraglider who was accidentally propelled more than 8,000 metres high by an updraft has been banned from the activity for six months after a video of his ordeal went viral. Peng Yujiang began from an elevation of about 3,000m in the Qilian mountain range in northern China, where he intended to test a new second-hand equipment purchase without making a proper flight, according to an investigative report by the Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association. Advertisement However about 20 minutes into his practice he was caught in a strong updraft, which sent him soaring more than 5,000m high, in line with flight paths and nearly the height of Mount Everest. Related: A new start after 60: I dreamt of paragliding for 30 years. When I took to the skies at 80 I felt completely free Video from Peng's mounted camera showed him above the clouds and covered in icicles as the temperature dropped to a reported -35C, as he tried to control his equipment. In a video filmed shortly after landing, Peng recounted the experience. 'My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio,' he said. Advertisement Authorities praised Peng's survival, conceding it was an accident. A 'normal person cannot be exposed at 8,000m without oxygen [so] this is not something that can be done voluntarily' said a sports bureau official, according to Sixth Tone. But Peng, who has about five years' experience paragliding, never intended to leave ground level and so had not registered any flight plans, meaning his ordeal was 'not subject to relevant approvals', the report said. In response he was banned from flying for six months. The bureau report, based on an interview with Peng, said he was in the air for more than an hour, and had stayed in radio contact with his friend, Gu Zhimin, who was still on the ground. The report said he had attempted to descend but his efforts were 'ineffective', and as he flew higher he became confused and briefly lost consciousness. Advertisement Peng was eventually able to land about 30km from the launch site, where he was met by Gu and another friend. Gu later posted a video of Peng's flight and comments on the ground to Douyin, China's domestic version of TikTok, where it soon went viral. The video sparked shock and admiration from viewers, some suggesting he had broken records, but it also drew the ire of authorities. 'Gu Zhimin posted a flight video without permission, which had a bad impact,' the report said. 'He was grounded for six months and asked to write a report to deeply reflect on the negative impact of his behaviour.' The bureau said any record broken by Peng's flight would not be officially counted because his flight was not registered. Advertisement His flight nears the world record of 9,946m set by German paraglider Ewa Wiśnierska in 2007, when she was caught in a similar updraft while paragliding in Australia. Wiśnierska was unconscious for about 40 minutes, only learning how high she had flown after safely landing and checking her flight data. Additional research by Lillian Yang
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Chinese paraglider survives accidental 8,000-metre-high flight above the clouds
A Chinese paraglider who was accidentally propelled more than 8,000 metres high by an updraft has been banned from the activity for six months after a video of his ordeal went viral. Peng Yujiang began from an elevation of about 3,000m in the Qilian mountain range in northern China, where he intended to test a new second-hand equipment purchase without making a proper flight, according to an investigative report by the Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association. However about 20 minutes into his practice he was caught in a strong updraft, which sent him soaring more than 5,000m high, in line with flight paths and nearly the height of Mount Everest. Video from Peng's mounted camera showed him above the clouds and covered in icicles as the temperature dropped to a reported -35C, as he tried to control his equipment. In a video filmed shortly after landing, Peng recounted the experience. 'My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio,' he said. Authorities praised Peng's survival, conceding it was an accident. A 'normal person cannot be exposed at 8,000m without oxygen [so] this is not something that can be done voluntarily' said a sports bureau official, according to Sixth Tone. But Peng, who has about five years' experience paragliding, never intended to leave ground level and so had not registered any flight plans, meaning his ordeal was 'not subject to relevant approvals', the report said. In response he was banned from flying for six months. The bureau report, based on an interview with Peng, said he was in the air for more than an hour, and had stayed in radio contact with his friend, Gu Zhimin, who was still on the ground. The report said he had attempted to descend but his efforts were 'ineffective', and as he flew higher he became confused and briefly lost consciousness. Peng was eventually able to land about 30km from the launch site, where he was met by Gu and another friend. Gu later posted a video of Peng's flight and comments on the ground to Douyin, China's domestic version of TikTok, where it soon went viral. The video sparked shock and admiration from viewers, some suggesting he had broken records, but it also drew the ire of authorities. 'Gu Zhimin posted a flight video without permission, which had a bad impact,' the report said. 'He was grounded for six months and asked to write a report to deeply reflect on the negative impact of his behaviour.' The bureau said any record broken by Peng's flight would not be officially counted because his flight was not registered. His flight nears the world record of 9,946m set by German paraglider Ewa Wiśnierska in 2007, when she was caught in a similar updraft while paragliding in Australia. Wiśnierska was unconscious for about 40 minutes, only learning how high she had flown after safely landing and checking her flight data. Additional research by Lillian Yang
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Chinese paraglider cheats death after flying to 28,000ft, handed 6 month ban
A Chinese paraglider who cheated death after a cloud carried him to the same height as the cruising altitude for aircraft, has been banned from flying for six months, authorities said on Wednesday. Peng Yujiang found himself at 28,208ft (8,598 metres) above sea level after his equipment malfunctioned and he was lifted to a height equivalent to almost summiting Mount Everest. The glider's on board camera recorded the entire incident, including the moment Peng climbed to heights where temperatures are as low as -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) and oxygen drops to critically low levels. Peng had taken off from a height of nearly 10,000ft in the Qilian Mountains, a range between the Qinghai and Gansu provinces of northern China, on Saturday, and was reportedly in the air for more than an hour. The Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association released a report detailing the event on Wednesday, and banned Peng from flying as he had not registered his trip beforehand. Play A pilot named Gu Zhimin was also banned from flying for six months, because he 'released the video of the incident with permission', the report said.
