Sabrina called it her second birthday after a Cessna tore through her paraglider over the Alps, then she got home and typed out exactly what happened

A 44-year-old paraglider has survived a midair collision with a small plane over the Austrian Alps after the aircraft’s propeller sliced clean through her main parachute, sending her into a violent spin toward the ground. The woman, identified in local reports as Sabrina T., shared footage of the incident on Instagram shortly after, writing in German that she still could not believe she was sitting there typing it out. As detailed by UNILAD, the clip has since drawn widespread attention across the free-flight community and beyond.

Sabrina had launched from the Schmittenhöhe area near Salzburg on May 23, flying toward Piesendorf, when at around 1:15 PM a Cessna 172 appeared behind her without warning. The propeller struck her main canopy and shredded it almost instantly, throwing her into a spin. Her face remains off camera for most of the clip, but the shouts and exclamations caught on the recording leave little to the imagination.

Despite the shock of sudden decompression and loss of control, Sabrina reached for her reserve parachute and deployed it successfully. She descended and landed on a forest road beside a tree. Austrian alpine police later confirmed the outcome in a statement: “She managed a safe emergency landing on a forest road.”

Reserve parachute deployment made the critical difference

After she landed, a police helicopter picked Sabrina up and flew her to Zell am See Airport, where the Cessna had also landed. The plane sustained only minor damage. Sabrina later sought treatment for bruising and contusions but was otherwise uninjured.

The Cessna’s pilot, a 28-year-old man from Tyrol, told investigators he had been conducting an alpine sightseeing flight from the Glemmtal area toward Zell am See when the collision occurred. He stated he had been unable to swerve in time. Authorities are still working to determine the exact sequence of events, and the investigation remains ongoing. Initial reports suggested Sabrina may have been maneuvering at the moment of impact, but alpine police later corrected that, confirming she had been flying straight when the aircraft approached from behind. Amid other recent stories of people acting instinctively in dangerous moments, such as a crossing guard in New Jersey who stepped in front of a vehicle to save children, Sabrina’s case stands out for the technical precision her survival required.

Christoph Lindenthaler of the Austrian Alpine Police noted that right-of-way rules in Austrian airspace are clear: powered aircraft are generally required to give way to unpowered ones. Officials at Zell am See Airport also noted the surrounding area is not controlled airspace, meaning recreational and general aviation traffic share the same sky with paragliders, making vigilance and conservative separation essential for all involved.

Sabrina captioned her Instagram post “Happy Birthday to me,” adding that she could not believe she was sitting there typing the words. In a follow-up post with still images from the footage, she wrote that “there are rules and accidents happen anyway,” and said she hoped her experience would encourage pilots to “fly a little more attentive again.” She also acknowledged that “a paraglider, just like a glider for us, is often difficult to see, even though we are beautifully colorful.” The clip drew comparisons to other viral moments of people acting without hesitation under pressure, including a pregnant diver off Los Angeles who entered the water to remove parasites from a distressed dolphin, footage that also reached millions of viewers on social media.

The pilot of the Cessna has not been publicly identified beyond his age and home region. The investigation into the cause of the collision is ongoing.