All Tangled Up – Firemen Rescue Paramotor Pilot From Cables

Madrid firefighters had to rescue a 55-year-old paramotor pilot tangled in overhead cables more than 80 feet above the ground at night.

Luckily, reported the Madrid 112 emergency services, the pilot was suspended in mid-air from the only cable not carrying electricity.

The rescue took place in the municipality of Nuevo Baztan following a call to the emergency services at around 7.15pm on 20th March.

The Madrid 112 Security and Emergencies Agency said the powered paraglider had “the incredible luck of getting caught on the only cable that does not carry current, the grounding cable”.

It added: “If it hadn’t been like that, he might not have made it.”

When firefighters arrived on the scene, they found the man stuck 25 metres (82 feet) above the ground in an area of difficult access.

Footage shows how officers reached him in a basket attached to the fire engine’s extendable boom after the electricity company turned off the power.

They managed to extract the man and his equipment, and they were both back down on the ground by 9.30pm.

The pilot, who was not named in reports but who hails from Madrid, was in perfect condition and did not require medical attention.

Local media reported that he may have taken off from a place nearby where powered paragliding is practised, but it is not clear if he had the necessary permits.

Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a motorised backpack called a paramotor, which provides thrust to a paraglider wing above.

The pilot uses the paramotor to take off from the ground and gain altitude, and then can turn off the motor to glide silently through the air.