Watch: unharnessed hang-glider clings on for dear life

American Chris Gursky’s first day on holiday in Switzerland took an unexpected turn when he decided to go hang gliding for the first time and his pilot forgot to attach him to the glider.

Shortly after takeoff, Gursky realised he wasn’t attached, but by that time the glider was already high up in the air. For more than two minutes, Gursky clung to a bar below the landing gear, only letting go when the glider finally came to land and was close enough to the ground.

He estimated that the glider was still travelling at around 72km/h when he finally let go. He fractured his wrist and tore his bicep tendon on impact, but other than that he is alive and well to tell the tale. He also appears to have taken the incident well, if the captions on the video he uploaded are anything to go by.