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NDTV
3 days ago
- Climate
- NDTV
What Is 'Cloud Suck'? The Rare Phenomenon That Lifted Chinese Paraglider To 28,000 Feet
A dramatic video recently went viral showing a 55-year-old Chinese paraglider, Peng Yujiang, being unexpectedly lifted to an altitude of 8,598 metres over China's Qilian Mountains due to a rare phenomenon known as "cloud suck". This extreme incident has garnered significant attention online. Peng, who was testing secondhand paragliding equipment at approximately 3,000 metres, encountered the updraft that carried him nearly 5,000 metres higher. He endured temperatures around -40 degrees Celsius and dangerously low oxygen levels. Despite experiencing hypoxia and severe frostbite, Peng managed to remain conscious and safely navigated back to the ground. Watch the video here: 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 "I had just bought a second-hand paragliding harness and wanted to test it, so I was conducting ground parachute shaking. After a while, the wind suddenly picked up and lifted me into the air. I tried to land as soon as possible, but I failed," Peng told CCTV Tuesday. "I found myself surrounded by cumulonimbus clouds and trapped inside. It was terrifying - everything around me was white. Without the compass, I wouldn't have known which direction I was heading. I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning. Eventually, I managed to fly out toward the northeast," he added. A video capturing his ordeal, showing him covered in ice and visibly shaken, went viral on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. Peng and his friend, who posted the video, received six-month bans from paragliding activities due to unauthorised flight and safety violations. What Is Cloud Suck and How It Led to Peng Yujiang's Paragliding Incident Aviation expert Wang Yanan explained to China Media Group CGTN that the incident involving Peng Yujiang was caused by a phenomenon called cloud suck. This occurs when a paraglider is pulled into strong upward air currents near cumulonimbus clouds. These powerful updrafts can rapidly increase the pilot's altitude, but this sudden rise is both intense and unpredictable, posing serious dangers. Wang emphasised, "Such rapid ascents are extremely hazardous. Once inside the cloud, the pilot may encounter severe cold, lack of oxygen, turbulence, and even lightning. At very high altitudes, these threats become even more severe, making cloud suck potentially life-threatening." Additionally, Wang cautioned that flying above 8,000 metres places paragliders dangerously close to the cruising altitude of commercial aeroplanes, increasing the risk of collision and other aviation hazards.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Climate
- Time of India
Chinese paraglider reaches near-record heights, over 28,000 feet, by accident
A paraglider in China who had intended to simply test some equipment instead ended up unwittingly reaching barely survivable heights last week. Peng Yujiang, a 55-year-old paraglider in Gansu province, on Saturday morning flew nearly 8,600 meters above sea level -- more than 28,200 feet, or about 5.3 miles -- in the Qilian mountain range of northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces, according to state media. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The episode was captured on a camera attached to his equipment and showed the harrowing conditions he experienced. Peng rose to a level almost on par with Mount Everest's summit and aviation flight paths. His face and body are covered in frost and ice in the video, which was originally posted to social media and later shared by Chinese state media. "I felt the lack of oxygen. My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio," Peng said in a video recorded after the incident, according to Sixth Tone, an English-language, Chinese state-owned outlet. According to local news media, Peng was testing equipment as part of "ground handling training" -- a step that paragliders say is critical to managing safe launches -- at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level, or about 10,000 feet. But a strong wind suddenly lifted him into the sky. He could not control the glider or land as the draft grew stronger and he was pulled up above the clouds. Peng was apparently the victim of a potentially dangerous phenomenon that paragliders call "cloud suck," in which a pilot is rapidly drawn upward into a cloud. At extreme altitudes, people risk hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, because of the thin air. Severe hypoxia can cause organ damage or death. Still, Peng managed to land about 20 miles away from where he took off. In stable health and recovering from his surprise flight, he has since said, "Thinking about it still makes me quite scared," China Daily reported Thursday. The local sporting authority in Gansu province said Wednesday that Peng, who is a licensed paraglider, would be barred from the sport for six months; it also noted that flying activities at sites in the area would be suspended for an unspecified period, local news media reported. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But the association deemed Peng's incident an accident, based on his statement that he did not have a flight planned and was doing ground handling training, which does not require participants to register plans in advance, the reports said. A second pilot was also banned from flying for six months, because he released footage of the incident without permission, the authority's report said, according to the South China Morning Post. Peng was not the first paraglider to accidentally reach such extreme heights. In 2007, Ewa Wisnierska, a champion Polish paraglider who competed on the German national team, reached around 10,000 meters, or over 32,000 feet, accidentally breaking the paragliding height record on a practice flight in Australia, just days before the World Paragliding Championships. Her 6-mile ascent was treacherous, and she passed out in the air, eventually landing more than 50 miles away from where she took off, on a farm. Another paraglider who was caught in cloud suck that day did not survive. "Today, I still fly -- but just for pleasure and to give courses to the people who come to my paragliding school. Competing no longer makes any sense to me," Wisnierska told People magazine last year. "This definitely changed a lot of priorities and made me realize that there are much more important things in life than championship cups and medals. I often ask myself why was it that I survived and this other pilot did not?"
Global News
4 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.
The Star
5 days ago
- Climate
- The Star
Chinese paraglider reaches near-record heights, over 8,500m, by accident
Paraglider Peng Yujiang's face and body were covered in frost and ice as he rapidly rose to nearly 8,600m above sea level. - Visuals_China/Instagram via ST/ANN BEIJING: A paraglider in China who intended to simply test some equipment instead ended up reaching barely survivable heights last week. Peng Yujiang, a 55-year-old paraglider in Gansu province, early on May 24 flew nearly 8,600m above sea level in the Qilian mountain range of north-west China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces, according to state media. The episode was captured on a camera attached to his equipment and showed the harrowing conditions he experienced. Peng rose to a level almost on a par with Mount Everest's summit and aviation flight paths. His face and body are covered in frost and ice in the video, which was originally posted to social media and later shared by Chinese state media. 'I felt the lack of oxygen. My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio,' Peng said in a video recorded after the incident, according to Sixth Tone, an English-language, Chinese state-owned outlet. According to local news media, Peng was testing equipment as part of 'ground-handling training' – a step that paragliders say is critical to managing safe launches – at an altitude of 3,000m above sea level. But a strong wind suddenly lifted him into the sky. He could not control the glider or land as the draft grew stronger, and he was pulled up above the clouds. Peng was apparently the victim of a potentially dangerous phenomenon that paragliders call 'cloud suck', in which a pilot is rapidly drawn upwards into a cloud. At extreme altitudes, people risk hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, because of the thin air. Severe hypoxia can cause organ damage or death. Still, Peng managed to land about 32km away from where he took off. In stable health and recovering from his surprise flight, he has since said: 'Thinking about it still makes me quite scared,' China Daily reported on May 29. The local sporting authority in Gansu province said on May 28 that Peng, who is a licensed paraglider, would be barred from the sport for six months. It also noted that flying activities at sites in the area would be suspended for an unspecified period, local news media reported. But the association deemed Peng's incident an accident, based on his statement that he did not have a flight planned and was doing ground-handling training, which does not require participants to register plans in advance, the reports said. A second pilot was also banned from flying for six months because he released footage of the incident without permission, the authority's report said, according to the South China Morning Post. Peng was not the first paraglider to accidentally reach such extreme heights. In 2007, Ewa Wisnierska, a champion Polish paraglider who competed on the German national team, reached around 10,000m, accidentally breaking the paragliding height record on a practice flight in Australia, just days before the World Paragliding Championships. Her ascent was treacherous, and she passed out in the air, eventually landing more than 80km away from where she took off, on a farm. Another paraglider who was caught in cloud suck that day did not survive. 'Today, I still fly – but just for pleasure and to give courses to the people who come to my paragliding school. Competing no longer makes any sense to me,' Wisnierska told People magazine in 2024. 'This definitely changed a lot of priorities and made me realise that there are much more important things in life than championship cups and medals. I often ask myself why was it that I survived and this other pilot did not?' - The New York Times
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Climate
- Straits Times
Chinese paraglider reaches near-record heights, over 8,500m, by accident
Paraglider Peng Yujiang's face and body are covered in frost and ice as a rapidly rose to nearly 8,600m above sea level. PHOTO: VISUALS_CHINA/INSTAGRAM BEIJING – A paraglider in China who intended to simply test some equipment instead ended up unwittingly reaching barely survivable heights last week. Mr Peng Yujiang, a 55-year-old paraglider in Gansu province, early on May 24 flew nearly 8,600m above sea level in the Qilian mountain range of north-west China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces, according to state media. The episode was captured on a camera attached to his equipment and showed the harrowing conditions he experienced. Mr Peng rose to a level almost on par with Mount Everest's summit and aviation flight paths. His face and body are covered in frost and ice in the video, which was originally posted to social media and later shared by Chinese state media. 'I felt the lack of oxygen. My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio,' Mr Peng said in a video recorded after the incident, according to Sixth Tone, an English-language, Chinese state-owned outlet. According to local news media, Mr Peng was testing equipment as part of 'ground-handling training' – a step that paragliders say is critical to managing safe launches – at an altitude of 3,000m above sea level. But a strong wind suddenly lifted him into the sky. He could not control the glider or land as the draft grew stronger, and he was pulled up above the clouds. Mr Peng was apparently the victim of a potentially dangerous phenomenon that paragliders call 'cloud suck', in which a pilot is rapidly drawn upward into a cloud. At extreme altitudes, people risk hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, because of the thin air. Severe hypoxia can cause organ damage or death. Still, Mr Peng managed to land about 32km away from where he took off. In stable health and recovering from his surprise flight, he has since said, 'Thinking about it still makes me quite scared,' China Daily reported on May 29. The local sporting authority in Gansu province said on May 28 that Mr Peng, who is a licensed paraglider, would be barred from the sport for six months. It also noted that flying activities at sites in the area would be suspended for an unspecified period, local news media reported. But the association deemed Mr Peng's incident an accident, based on his statement that he did not have a flight planned and was doing ground-handling training, which does not require participants to register plans in advance, the reports said. A second pilot was also banned from flying for six months because he released footage of the incident without permission, the authority's report said, according to the South China Morning Post. Mr Peng was not the first paraglider to accidentally reach such extreme heights. In 2007, Ms Ewa Wisnierska, a champion Polish paraglider who competed on the German national team, reached around 10,000m, accidentally breaking the paragliding height record on a practice flight in Australia, just days before the World Paragliding Championships. Her ascent was treacherous, and she passed out in the air, eventually landing more than 80km away from where she took off, on a farm. Another paraglider who was caught in cloud suck that day did not survive. 'Today, I still fly – but just for pleasure and to give courses to the people who come to my paragliding school. Competing no longer makes any sense to me,' Ms Wisnierska told People magazine in 2024. 'This definitely changed a lot of priorities and made me realise that there are much more important things in life than championship cups and medals. I often ask myself why was it that I survived and this other pilot did not?' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
