for all you crazy parachuters out there...

[Mustaine]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070202/od_nm/australia_eagles_dc



dude thats some freaky stuff! LOL

Wild eagles attack paraglider

By Rob Taylor Fri Feb 2, 9:22 AM ET

CANBERRA, Feb 2 (Reuters Life!) - Britain's top female paraglider has cheated death after being attacked by a pair of "screeching" wild eagles while competition flying in Australia.

Nicky Moss, 38, watched terrified as two huge birds began tearing into her parachute canopy, one becoming tangled in her lines and clawing at her head 2,500 meters (8,200ft) in the air.

"I heard screeching behind me and a eagle flew down and attacked me, swooping down and bouncing into the side of my wing with its claws," Moss told Reuters on Friday.

"Then another one appeared and together they launched a sustained attack on my glider, tearing at the wing."

The encounter happened on Monday while Moss -- a member of the British paragliding team -- was preparing for world titles this month at Manilla in northern New South Wales state.

One of the giant wedge-tailed eagles became wrapped in the canopy lines and slid down toward Moss, lashing at her face with its talons as her paraglider plummeted toward the ground.

"It swooped in and hit me on the back of the head, then got tangled in the glider which collapsed it. So I had a very, very large bird wrapped up screeching beside me as I screamed back," Moss said.

She said she thought about dumping her parachute-style canopy and using the reserve.

"But then I would have been descending on my reserve as the birds continued shredding it, which I wasn't happy about," she said.

Wedge-tailed eagles are Australia's largest predatory birds and have a wing-span of more than two meters.

Moss said the attack ended after the second bird freed itself and the glider reached a height of only 100m from the ground, taking her outside the territory of the pair, who probably mistook her as a bird intruder.

Veteran Australian paraglider pilot Godfrey Wenness said eagle attacks were rare, but Moss had been flying in an area where the birds were not accustomed to human pilots.

"Eagles are the sharks of the air. But if you're a regular they just treat you pretty indifferently," he said.

Moss, who crashed into a gum tree in Australia last year while flying in Victoria, said her latest encounter had not put her off flying.

"I see the eagles quite often and they are incredibly beautiful, but I must say I have never been so relieved to reach the ground," she said.

I can just picture the Bold text ROFLMAO!!!:lol

[Mace2004]

That'll teach her to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

[Xargos]

Maybe the eagle wanted to mate with her!

[Gh0stFT]

Originally posted by Mace2004
That'll teach her to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

It was Paraglider not a Parachuter.
She started from ground and flew up to 2.500m
Read the Story here.
Almost on every flying location i know they are restriced zones
where flying is not allowed or you have to maintain a minimum alt.
(wildlife protection).
It happened to me too, flying thermals with some falcons (birds!;)
no attack report yet... ;)

[Bluedog]

I saw a doco a few years back were a guy was hang gliding in the mountains in the US somewhere, and a Bald Eagle came and flew close formation with him for a bit before actually 'landing' on the very front part of the hang glider, with his wings spread, and flew along with the guy for ages.
Was an awesome sight, I can only imagine how cool an experience it was for the bloke in the hang glider.
He was a native American and was quite obviously deeply moved by his contact and time shared with what he called his ancestor.
Was a very cool show.

[Pooh21]

just saw a pic of her,those eagles couldnt have wanted to hit it, her ugly mug must have skeered em