The pilot might have made a grievous error, but he, in Gursky's words, "turned out to be a pretty stand up guy, even though he nearly killed me." Lying in the hospital later that day, Gursky tried to make sense of what had happened. He fractured his right wrist and tore a tendon, but was otherwise left unscathed. He remembers feeling pretty relieved when he finally landed on the ground - even if it was a bumpy descent. There was just no other option but to hold on, says Gursky, so that's what he did. But I'm right handed and I held on mostly with my left hand the whole time - so I'm not sure where that came from." I don't work out like a maniac or anything, but I've always had a pretty strong grip. "Once I put my mind to something I'm pretty stubborn about it," Gursky says. He reckons what got him through is a mix of being strong-minded - and strong-wristed. Faced with such a terrifying scenario, many of us would panic and potentially lose control. Gursky's ordeal is a pretty impressive exercise in endurance, both physical and mental. And I think at that point, I really just tried to concentrate fully on hanging on as hard as I could, for as long as I could." It was an absolutely beautiful day and I just looked and I was like, this is absolutely beautiful - and I'm going to fall to my death here.Īnd I kind of envisioned myself falling to the air. "At one point when I looked down, I pretty much saw that the trees were all changing colours. Watching the video is pretty stressful, so it's impossible to imagine what was racing through Gursky's mind during the ordeal. Chris Gursky and his wife Gail, about to embark on their second hang gliding experience. The video shows how Gursky grabbed onto the glider with his left arm, and scrambled with the right to hold onto the instructor, who was attached. I just remember realising that the only thing holding me up from probably imminent death was my hands." "I didn't exactly know what was going on, what happened until it was way too late to either drop off or do anything about it. "It kind of went in slow motion when we took off," he tells CNN Travel. Gursky's wife took off successfully, and he was poised to follow. It was also their very first day in Switzerland, Gursky says, and it was a stunning day, the sun illuminating the dazzling panoramas of the Alps and the lush forests below. The couple's hang gliding adventure in November 2018 was the first time either one of them had tried this particular air sport. On previous trips they've enjoyed zip lining, he says. Gursky and his wife Gail don't shy away from heights and often enjoy aerial pursuits while on vacation. "But once once we left the ground I was just taken along and it was absolutely beautiful." A day to remember
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