A Chinese paraglider's routine equipment test turned extraordinary—and terrifying—when a powerful updraft swept him nearly 27,800 feet above China's Qilian mountains, leaving him covered in ice, disoriented, and battling for survival in thin air. His harrowing flight, captured on video, quickly became a viral sensation, the BBC reports. Peng Yujiang, 55, was testing his equipment at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level when a weather phenomenon known as "cloud suck" lofted him another 16,000 feet—ultimately bringing him nearly to the height of Mount Everest. Video footage, recorded on his glider's camera, shows Peng's face and body encased in ice as he held onto the controls during the ordeal.
Peng told China Media Group that he became disoriented inside a cloud, surrounded by white with no clear sense of 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 said. With temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit and extremely thin oxygen at that altitude, the risk was clear. Peng believes he may have briefly lost consciousness during his descent and described regaining control of the glider as the most difficult part, CNN reports.
While Peng has been paragliding for four and a half years and is certified as a B-level paraglider, Chinese authorities say his flight was unauthorized, leading to a six-month suspension. According to the Global Times, Peng had not intended to fly that day, only to check his parachute on the ground, but strong winds took him aloft before the updraft carried him skyward. Authorities are investigating the incident. Entirely by accident, Peng ended up breaking the world paragliding altitude record. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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