Landing plane barely misses hitting sunbather (with video)

Rainer Schmidt was near an airstrip on Düne, a small island that is part of Germany’s Archipelago of Heligoland, shooting video of planes landing. As The Telegraph reports, Mr. Schmidt told Bild, a German newspaper, that he had seen some planes land without incident, when one suddenly captured his attention in a bad way. He told the tabloid, “I instantly realized that this one was coming in to land far too low.” “Far too low” is right, as Mr. Schmidt’s video shows the plane in question nearly hitting a man sunbathing on the beach before landing.

Another sunbather on Düne, Uwe Kaiser, told Bild, “The man who was almost hit was lying down and he turned over to look after seeing the plane coming and then instantly flung himself down in the sand as it crossed over him. It really was a close shave."

As The Telegraph notes, the pilot, Juergen Drucker, admitted the close call was his mistake, saying, “It was me that was flying and I am really sorry. I have to say, as the pictures show, that it wasn't one of my greatest achievements in the cockpit." Witnesses say that the sunbather, whose name was not provided, got up and decided to sunbathe elsewhere.

More info: The Telegraph