Daredevil Aslan Gaboev, 104, flew in a paraglider with pilot Igor Potapkin at the age of 104, over the Chegem Gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, but did not beat the record
Aslan Gaboev flies motorised paraglider at altitude of about 2,000 metres
A daredevil soars over a huge 6,000ft drop in a paraglider – at the age of 104.
Aslan Gaboev flew in a two-seater aircraft with two-time world champion paraglider Igor Potapkin as his pilot. After last-minute medical checks declared him fit to make the flight above the spectacular drop to the valley floor, the pair took off.
Footage of the flight shows Aslan waving to spectators as they flew over the spectacular Chegem Gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria at the weekend. They were joined in the sky by dozens of other paragliders above them, getting a bird’s eye view of the flight.
Organisers told local media the pair had set the new world record for the oldest person to be taken up in a paraglider, however, it later emerged it might not be the case. Guinness World Records says the current record was set by 105-year-old Yu Te-Hsi in 2005 who made a tandem flight over Humtou Mountain in Puli, China.
Earlier this year a paraglider in his 60s had a lucky escape when his parachute failed and he had to make an emergency landing. The flyer took off in Derbyshire and landed on a soft and flexible roof structure in Sheffield , which acted as a cushion for his fall.
The incident happened at an industrial estate in Station Road, Ecclesfield. A fire service spokesman said: “Crews from Stocksbridge and Parkway fire stations worked alongside ambulance and police colleagues to rescue a man whose parachute had failed from the roof of a structure in Ecclesfield Industrial Estate.
“The man, in his 60s, had been taking part in a glide in Derbyshire when his chute malfunctioned forcing him to make an emergency landing. He landed on top of a large tent like structure which is used to store salt grit. The flexible nature of the structure meant the man suffered only minor injuries.”
