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A Chinese paraglider has survived accidentally flying 8,598 meters into the sky - a "death zone" altitude.
Why It Matters
The "death zone" refers to anything above 8,000 meters, where the pressure of oxygen is considered insufficient to sustain human life.
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This means the paraglider narrowly survived death when he was propelled to 8,598 meters, an altitude just a little lower than the peak of Mount Everest, on Saturday.
What To Know
Peng Yujiang, 55, was flung into the "death zone" while testing new equipment over the Qilian mountains in north-west China.
A cloud suck (an updraft or air current) pushed him higher into a cloud formation when he was 3,000 meters above sea level.
Footage, filmed from a camera on Peng's glider, shows the certified B-level paraglider, shows Peng holding onto control of his glider while covered in frost. It went viral on Douyin—China's version of TikTok.
"It was terrifying, everything was white," Peng told Chinese state media, China Media Group, "I couldn't see any direction."
"Without the compass, I wouldn't have known which way I was going. I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning," he said.
"It was so cold, and my fingers were outside for a while, holding the radio," Pend said, according to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper.
"I could feel that I was really short on oxygen," he said.
The Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association has since banned Peng from flying for six months, saying he had not registered his trip with local authorities beforehand, the South China Morning Post reports.
A different paraglider, Gu Zhimin, was banned from flying for six months because he "released the video of the incident with permission," the sports regulator said in a report.
What People Are Saying
A Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association spokesperson said: "The flight was an accident. He hit an updraft and was inadvertently pushed up. A normal person cannot be exposed at 8,000m (26,246ft) without oxygen. This is not something that can be done voluntarily.
"If he was conducting activities in Jiayuguan, he should have registered with the Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association."
**Peng said: "**I wanted to come down quickly, but I just couldn't. I was lifted higher and higher until I was inside the cloud."
What Happens Next
Peng will have to wait six months before he can paraglide again.
Any record that he may have broken with his trip will not stand because he did not register it, the Gansu Provincial Aviation Sports Association said.
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Update 05/29/25 11:31 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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