Pipistrel Virus makes parachute recovery - Video Slovenia - Curt Lewis

Small plane PARACHUTES safely to earth after the pilot dives down so quickly its wings are ripped off above Slovenia

 

• Ultralight aircraft had wings torn off after it picked up too much speed
• Pilot, a 54-year-old Austrian man, deployed a parachute last minute
• The parachute took the pilot and his passenger, 35, safely to the ground

An Austrian pilot saved his own life and that of his passenger when he used a parachute to land his plane after the wings were torn off mid-air.

The unnamed pilot had reportedly flown his ultralight aircraft at too high speed through a cloud bank, resulting in the wings being ripped off.

The quick-thinking 54-year-old then deployed a parachute, which carried the plane safely back to the ground in Bovec, Slovenia. 

Incredible moment parachute brings plane safely down

Safe landing: The 54-year-old pilot and his 35-year-old passenger were parachuted to safety over Slovenia
The man and his 35-year-old passenger had been travelling from Venice back to Austria in his ultralight aircraft, a Pipistrel Virus.

As they were flying over Slovenia, the pilot reportedly got into difficulties after running into a cloud bank.

According to initial reports, he executed a diving manoeuvre that saw him to picking up too much speed as he headed to the ground.

An air accident official told local media in Slovenia: 'By trying to get out of the cloud the aeroplane picked up too much speed, and that put too much pressure on the structure. 

The pilot had done a diving manoeuvre which led to the plane picking up too much speed, ripping the wings off

Touch down: The pilot's quick thinking in deploying the parachute saved his and his passenger's lives

The Pipistrel Virus is an ultralight two-seater civil utility aircraft which only weighs 626lbs when empty

The parachute had apparently only been deployed absolutely last-minute preventing a major disaster that almost certainly would have killed both people on the plane. 

The Pipistrel Virus is an ultralight two-seater civil utility aircraft which only weighs 626lbs (284kg) when empty.

The plane has a wingspan of 11m - just over 36ft - and can only weight a maximum of 1,323lbs (600kg) at take-off.