Paraglider caught by Miss Liberty
 

From Canoe:

Lady Liberty catches parachutist

NEW YORK (AP) -- A man using a motor-driven parachute to glide above New York Harbor was arrested Thursday morning after he became snagged on the Statue of Liberty's upraised torch and had to be rescued by police.

The man, who could be seen hanging on the outstretched arm of the statue, was pulled to safety by New York City Police officers on a deck directly below the torch just after 10 a.m. The bright orange parachute had been draped over the torch since about 9:30 a.m.

Police said the man, identified as Thierry Devaux, 41, had intended to land somewhere on Liberty Island, carrying a sign protesting the use of land mines. It was not immediately clear whether he had hoped to land on the statue itself or on the ground.

Land mines, eh?

Paradoxal that he would suspend himself as high above "land" as possible.

Stupid sod. If we ignore him, he and his kind will go away. It's the media attention that is the be-all and end-all of these stunts.

Harrumph

Lucky he didnt end up on one of the Lady's hair spikes. What a tool.

Kerms :rolleyes:

These are actually called [i]paramotors[/] in the UK. Also foot launched microlights.

You curiously don't need any licence to fly them.

He may have been a prat to end up hanging from the Statue and needing rescuers to have to go to all the effort to save him, but I can't critisise him for trying to bring attention to something he believes in. America is supposed to be the 'Land of the Free' (although try telling them you have comunist beliefs) and last I heard, so are we. Pity Tony and his Eurocrat chums don't seem to realise that.
-edited because I can't spell or type (very well)

[ 24 August 2001: Message edited by: Captain James Bigglesworth ]

Darwin award 2001?

What worries me about this guy is that there is a VFR lane running up the Hudson.

If "someone" decides to impose restrictions on flying because of incidents (or potential for incidents) like this, more free airspace gets lost to all.