The story of paraglider Ewa Wisnierska, who was carried away by a thunderstorm

In extreme sports, it is not customary to rely on luck. Only accurate calculations, physical training and reliable equipment can save lives. But extreme situations still happen when you can only rely on luck. The story of the German paraglider of Polish origin Ewa Wiśnierska, who was caught in a thunderstorm, is just such a case.

Ewa Wisnierska is often called the luckiest athlete in the world. She spent 40 minutes at an altitude of 9946 meters, almost without oxygen and at 50 degrees below zero. The woman survived at the altitude where passenger planes fly and returned to the ground with minimal damage to her health.

This amazing story happened on February 14, 2007 in Australia. 200 paragliding athletes from all over the world gathered there to conduct training flights before important competitions. Among them was 35-year-old Ewa Wisnierska from Germany.

Each athlete had with him a device with which observers on the ground could see his flight altitude and coordinates. Everything started out just fine - paragliders were flying in the sky over the mountains and enjoying excellent weather. But when everyone got high enough, the weather changed dramatically. A strong wind blew up and the sky was filled with thunderclouds.

When the weather changed, Eva was taller than the other athletes. She was an experienced paraglider and had already encountered thunderstorms during her flights. Therefore, the athlete, without panicking, attempted to descend. But rising air currents prevented this from happening. The paraglider, on the contrary, lifted Wisnierska higher and higher, right to the center of the thundercloud.

The team members on the ground watched in horror on their instruments as Eva rapidly moved away from the ground. At a speed of 40 meters per second, the woman rose to a height of 9946 meters.

At this altitude there is very little oxygen in the air and an unimaginable 50-degree cold reigns. Such conditions are fatal to humans, and Ava had almost no chance. The athlete lost consciousness and this may have saved her life. Her body “shut down”, and the work of her heart and other organs slowed down. And the woman was in this “energy conservation mode” for 40 minutes.

People on the ground were sure that the woman was dead. Below, the forces of nature were also raging - a hurricane wind was blowing, hail was falling and lightning was flashing. Most of the athletes managed to descend in time and only Wisnierska and Chinese paraglider He Zhong Ping were caught in the thundercloud. There was no communication with them.

Meanwhile, due to the accumulation of snow, Eva's paraglider collapsed. She began to rapidly fall down at a speed of 200 km per hour. Wisnierska, who had survived the great heights but was unconscious, now faced another danger. The athlete was about to crash. But then another miracle happened - at an altitude of 6900 meters the paraglider suddenly opened up!

Eva woke up from a strong jolt. But the athlete could not do anything to save herself. She was completely covered with a layer of ice. It was on the woman's suit, helmet, gloves, goggles and paraglider canopy. For some time Wisnierska was not in control of the situation and was not even oriented in space. But after some time she still managed to gain control of the paraglider.

Eva managed to go beyond the thundercloud and safely descended to the ground 60 km from the starting point. Her flight lasted 3.5 hours, of which she spent 40 minutes in conditions fatal to humans. The landing went well and Visnierska was quickly found. She suffered frostbite on her extremities and ears, but was otherwise fine.

The second athlete, caught in the same thundercloud, was not so lucky. The body of 42-year-old He Zhong Ping was found the next day 75 km from the starting point. The man was killed by cold and lack of oxygen. One of the competition organizers, Godfrey Venness, said Wisnierska had unwittingly broken the world record. Before this, the “ceiling” of paragliding flights was 730 meters.

The case of Ewa Wisnierska is so amazing that a documentary film “Miracle in the Storm” was made about it. It was presented in 2010 by the television companies France 5 and ABC 1. Ewa Vesnierskaya has fully recovered from the ill-fated flight and continues to do what she loves - flying with a paraglider.

The story of Ewa Wisnierska is surprising, but many believe that there are lucky people who surpass her in terms of luck. Flight attendant Vesna Vulović survived the plane explosion and fell from a height of 10,000 meters, surviving.