Passenger Survives The Accident With A Broken Leg
The pilot of a paraglider flying with a passenger in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India on November 25 was fatally injured after the aircraft appeared to suffer an in-flight structural failure and spun into the ground. But the piloting skills of 22-year-old Purushottam Timsina are being credited by some with saving the life of 32-year-old passenger Gaurav Choudhary.
There are, however, conflicting reports concerning how the accident occurred.
The incident was captured on video and posted on the "I love Siliguri" Facebook page, according to a report from Fox News.
In the video, the pair can been seen nearing the ground when one of the cords that controls the paraglider appears to break, sending the aircraft into a spin. The Telegraph of India reports that two people who witnessed the accident said that they had seen the paraglider "split in two" in midair.
But Bipen Tamang, a spokesman for the local Paragliding Association said that it was "impossible" for a paraglider to tear into two halves, and the association is ready to "face any investigation."
Tamang initially said that the aircraft had been caught by a gust of wind and blown away from the landing area, where it came in contact with a tree and then fell onto a concrete rooftop. The video contradicts that explanation.
Tamang criticizes Timsina for not wearing a helmet, which is mandatory for paragliding.
(Image captured from YouTube video)