Near miss: plane almost lands on sunbather - video
A sunbather had a narrow escape when a light aircraft missed him by a matter of inches
A sunbather in northern Germany had a narrow escape when a light aircraft came within inches of landing on top of him.
Video obtained by the German tabloid Bild shows the Piper PA-28 aircraft coming in short of the runway, passing directly over the sunbather and clipping a fence before touching down on the landing strip.
The incident happened on Dune, a small island off the coast of Heligoland. No one was injured and the aircraft suffered only minor damage.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The pilot, Juergen Drucker, apologised and acknowledged that "it wasn't one of my greatest achievements in the cockpit".
According to a witness, the unknown sunbather saved himself by taking evasive action at the last minute.
"The man who was almost hit was lying down and he turned over to look after seeing the plane coming and then instantly flung himself down in the sand as it crossed over him," said Uwe Kaiser, quoted in the Daily Telegraph. "It really was a close shave."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Political cartoons for January 17Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include hard hats, compliance, and more
-
Ultimate pasta alla NormaThe Week Recommends White miso and eggplant enrich the flavour of this classic pasta dish
-
Death in Minneapolis: a shooting dividing the USIn the Spotlight Federal response to Renee Good’s shooting suggest priority is ‘vilifying Trump’s perceived enemies rather than informing the public’
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians