Watch: Plane cuts through paraglider air, woman plunges screaming over Austrian Alps

A 44-year-old paraglider miraculously survived after her cabin was ripped through by a sightseeing plane in a terrifying mid-air collision over the Austrian Alps, sending her spiraling to the ground before she managed to deploy an emergency parachute.

The dramatic incident happened on Saturday afternoon near Schmittenhöhe in the north of Austria.

The plane rips through the air through the canopy of the paraglider

A video shot by a paraglider identified only as Sabrina captured terrifying moment a small plane suddenly flew right through her canopy as she glided over the mountains.

The footage showed the plane passing just a few feet above her head before tearing through the wing of the paraglider.

Sabrina could be heard screaming as she started spinning uncontrollably through the sky.

The canopy appeared to split in half after the plane hit.

An emergency parachute saves the life of paragliders

As she hurtled toward the ground, Sabrina desperately tried to untangle and deploy the emergency reserve parachute.

Footage later showed that she managed to open the emergency chute moments before she landed hard on the ground.

Despite the terrifying fall, the experienced paraglider survived with only minor injuries.

“I actually still can’t believe I’m sitting here writing this – and that apart from a few nasty bruises and some general bruises, absolutely nothing happened,” Sabrina wrote in German on Instagram after the accident.

Police clash over the Alps

According to the Austrian police, the 44-year-old paraglider pilot from Upper Austria took off from the Schmittenhöhe mountain and flew towards Piesendorf.

Authorities said the crash happened around 1:15 p.m. near the Pinzgauer Hütte mountain hut while it was performing a minor maneuver in the air.

The aircraft involved was identified as a Cessna operated by a 28-year-old pilot from Tyrol.

Police said the pilot was conducting a scenic observation flight over the Alps when the crash occurred.

“The pilot of the powered aircraft was unable to avoid the paraglider,” authorities said.

The paraglider was severely damaged by the plane’s propeller, forcing Sabrina to deploy a backup parachute.

The plane lands safely after the crash

Officials said the pilot of the light plane managed to land safely at Zell am See airport after the crash.

The pilot reportedly claimed he could not have avoided the parachute.

Meanwhile, Sabrina crash-landed on a forest road before being rescued by the Austrian police helicopter “Libelle Oskar”.

She was later taken to Zell am See airport for assistance.