A flight almost ended in tragedy in September when a skydiver’s parachute got caught on the tail of a plane over Far North Queensland.

The parachutist was climbing out of the Cessna Caravan plane’s side door, when the handle for their reserve parachute snagged on the wing flap, accidentally deploying the parachute in the process, according to a report released on Thursday by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

Once caught, the parachutist was left dangling from the plane’s tail, leaving his legs flapping in the winds at 15,000 feet.

The skydiver’s feet then struck the plane’s left horizontal stabiliser, which jolted the plane, making it hard for the pilot, unaware of the incident unfolding, to control.

“The pilot recalled feeling the aircraft suddenly pitch up, and observed the airspeed rapidly decreasing,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said.

The pilot felt the controls vibrating, and had to compensate on the controls to maintain a straight and level flight, the ATSB said.

“Initially unaware of what had occurred, the pilot believed the aircraft had stalled, and pushed forward on the control column and applied some power in response,” Mitchell said.

The incident, which occurred over Tully Airport on September 20, prompted the pilot to declare a “mayday” to Brisbane Centre Air Traffic Control before landing.

As the parachutist dangled in the wind, 13 of the parachutists jumped and two remained in the doorway until the snagged parachutist used a hook knife to cut 11 lines from his reserve parachute.

This allowed his parachute to tear, which freed him from the plane; the distressed skydiver then deployed his main parachute and landed safely.

But even after the parachutist cut himself free, the damage done to the plane’s tail horizontal stabilisers left the pilot with limited pitch control (control of whether the plane’s nose is pointed up or down).

At that point, the pilot declared “mayday” as they judged whether a safe landing was possible with the damage to the rear stabilisers.

The pilot, wearing an emergency parachute, was prepared to “bail out during the descent if they deemed they did not have sufficient control to land the aircraft”, the ATSB report said.

However, after descending through about 2500 feet, the pilot felt able to land, which they did. In addition to the pilot, the flight carried 17 parachutists including one skydiving camera operator.

ATSB’s Mitchell said the incident should remind parachutists of being careful of their parachute handles, especially when exiting the aircraft.

“Carrying a hook knife – although it is not a regulatory requirement – could be lifesaving in the event of a premature reserve parachute deployment,” he said.

The Queensland incident is not the only skydiving-related event in recent history.

On September 27, an experienced parachutist was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed north of Moruya Airport in NSW minutes after a group of skydivers jumped out of his plane.

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