A dramatic skydiving incident in Queensland, Australia, left a parachutist suspended beneath a small aircraft at approximately fifteen thousand feet before he managed to free himself and land safely with minor injuries.

The episode occurred on September twenty during a planned sixteen-way formation jump from a Cessna Caravan over Tully Airport in far north Queensland.

As the aircraft reached jump altitude, the reserve parachute handle of skydiver Adrian Ferguson caught on the plane’s wing flap, deploying the chute prematurely and dragging him backward into the aircraft’s tail stabilizer.

The sudden entanglement caused significant damage to the horizontal stabilizer and left Ferguson hanging beneath the aircraft as thirteen fellow skydivers exited safely and two remained to assist.

Video footage released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau showed the parachutist using a personal hook knife to sever eleven lines of his reserve chute, freeing himself from the tail.

Despite some remaining entanglement, he successfully deployed his main parachute and descended to the ground, sustaining only minor leg injuries.

The camera operator on board was dislodged during the incident and also landed safely.

Faced with a damaged tailplane and portions of the reserve canopy caught in the aircraft’s control surfaces, the pilot declared a mayday but ultimately retained sufficient control to make a safe landing at Tully Airport with the remaining two skydivers aboard.

The ATSB’s report emphasised the importance of carrying a hook knife, noting that, while not mandatory under existing regulations, it was instrumental in the skydiver’s survival.

In response to the event, the Far North Freefall Club has updated its safety protocols, including mandating hook knives for all participants and revising pre-jump procedures.

The bureau’s chief commissioner highlighted the need for vigilance around parachute handles during aircraft exit and the life-saving potential of emergency cutting tools in atypical malfunctions.