Paraglider Survives 5-Mile Ascent in Powerful Thermal

When a person goes out to go paragliding, usually it's more of a relaxing, though dangerous type of activity that they're engaging in. Paragliding usually starts off from a mountain and then the paraglider typically will look for thermals which will give them a boost in altitude, prolonging their time in the air.

For a paraglider over the weekend, a normal paragliding outing became a dangerous trip to heights he likely never expected. The incident was described by The Sun. Starting out at a height of nearly 9,900 feet in the Qilian Mountains of China, a malfunction of the paraglider led to a terrifying flight to near 5 miles in altitude.

What weather phenomenon caused the paraglider to be sucked into the sky?

This paraglider was caught in an extreme thermal as a cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud was forming. According to Wikipedia, paragliders use the term "cloud suck" to refer to the phenomenon. As a cloud forms, upward motion can be very intense and paragliders can be caught up in the upward motion and unable to free themselves. This upward lift carried this paraglider to a height of close to 5 miles, a height where airplanes often fly.

How did this paraglider survive this ordeal?

Although he wasn't prepared at all for this type of extreme cold, or the lack of oxygen he endured, he survived the event and landed safely. His camera shows that he was able to keep talking on his radio and keep himself alert. He has some pretty severe frostbite to recover from due to surviving temperatures of -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Apparently the incident is now under investigation by the Chinese government because the proper flight plan wasn't filed prior to the flight according to the Global Times.