This is the horrifying moment a tourist's first hang gliding flight led to him nearly falling to his death.
US man Chris Gursky decided to take to the sky on his holiday in Switzerland. But after his instructor forgot to attach him to the craft, he was forced to cling for his life or face a fatal fall to earth.
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Mr Gursky posted the footage to YouTube under the title 'Swiss Mishap', with the warning: "Content may be disturbing to some. Including my wife!"
The video shows the pair taking off from a mountain, only to quickly realise Mr Gursky's harness hadn't been connected to the glider.
He then spent the next two minutes and 14 seconds desperately clinging for his life while the pilot attempted to bring them down safely.
"I was just trying to stay calm, trying to hold on for dear life," Mr Gursky told Good Morning America.
"I looked down once and I thought to myself: 'This is it, I'm going to fall to my death. I'm a goner.'"
He gripped the metal bar with one hand and grabbed onto his instructor with the other, but began to slip.
"I didn't have much grip left in me, my hand was opening, I was slipping. I had his pant leg and that's about it," he said.
He finally managed to hold on until the pilot was able to land in a field.
"I looked down to see my feet hit first, which ripped me off at about 45 mph as it was a hot landing and I was under the landing gear."
He escaped with his life, but not without injury. He fractured his wrist and also tore his left bicep tendon.
But he says he doesn't hold a grudge against the pilot who forgot to follow the safety checks.
"I am past that phase. He did all he could and more. He is a good guy," he told Cross Country Magazine.
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