A skydiving emergency in Australia has grabbed headlines as dramatic imagery shows a parachute snagging on a plane’s tail, leaving a diver suspended at 15,000 feet.
The incident, which occurred on September 20 over Queensland’s Tully Airport, involved Adrian Ferguson. He used a hook knife to cut himself free and sustained only minor injuries to one leg. The aircraft, a Cessna Caravan, carried the pilot and 16 other parachutists who were all unharmed.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released the investigation’s findings along with video footage. The team had reached the planned altitude for a 16-way formation jump, with a 17th parachutist at an open door filming the moment.
According to the ATSB report, Ferguson’s ripcord became snagged on a wing flap as he prepared to depart the aircraft. The reserve chute deployed abruptly, yanking him backward and causing him to collide with the camera operator, who then plummeted into free fall. Ferguson’s legs struck the tailplane’s horizontal stabilizer, and the chute wrapped around it, leaving him suspended.
To free himself, Ferguson deployed his knife and severed 11 lines, allowing him to exit the plane with portions of the torn canopy. He then released his main parachute, which fully inflated despite its entanglement with remnants of the reserve, enabling a safe landing.
Meanwhile, most of the other skydivers had already jumped, and the pilot was left with two skydivers onboard, struggling to manage the aircraft as the debris remained tangled near the tail. The pilot issued a mayday and prepared to bail out using an emergency chute, but Brisbane air traffic authorities determined he could land safely at Tully without further incident.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell noted that carrying a hook knife isn’t a regulatory requirement, but it can be lifesaving in cases of premature reserve deployment.
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