Paraglider accidentally sucked into clouds survives 28,000-foot flight in China

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.

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.

The hang glider was propelled 27,800 feet into the air, but Peng had never intended to take off, the report says.

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.