Mulberry - UPI
A skydiver, struck by a small plane at a Mulberry, Fla., airfield as he descended, called the incident "unimaginable" but says he will jump again.
Parachutist John Frost, 47, escaped with minor injuries as he was struck Saturday by a single-engine Cessna aircraft, piloted by Shannon Tremblay, 87, practicing takeoff and landing maneuvers.
"It was just unimaginable that there was an aircraft about to hit me. I realized I was going to have an impact. I scrunched up and tried to prepare myself. My first thought [was] that I don't want to end up in the propeller," Frost told ABC News Monday.
The nose of the plane flew through the strings on Frost's parachute, tangling them around the wing of the plane. Tremblay lost control of the plane, which struck the ground nose-first.
"I pulled back on the [control] stick to make the airplane go up and not hit him," Tremblay told WTVT-TV, Tampa.
Frost was treated and released from a local hospital. Tremblay was hospitalized for several cuts, including one on his neck requiring stitches.
"[As] soon as I feel safe to jump, I'll get back up there," Frost said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.