Swiss paraglider flies around viaduct in stunning stunt

GR: Paraglider flies around the Landwasser Viaduct Keystone-SDA

Swiss professional paraglider Patrick von Känel has achieved an unprecedented feat. He flew in a slalom pattern around the piers of the Landwasser Viaduct in Filisur in canton Graubünden while a Rhaetian Railway train was crossing the bridge.

To carry out the project, numerous test flights, extensive aeronautical expertise and an extraordinary understanding of wind conditions were required, according to a press release issued today by Red Bull, which states that the feat took place on July 6.

Von Känel had to overcome several obstacles to ensure the slalom flight around the viaduct was successful. He had to perform tight slalom turns around the pylons at steep angles – so-called “wing-overs” – which significantly accelerated the loss of altitude. And the manoeuvre was only possible in light wind conditions.

Furthermore, “the landing area was just a few metres from the viaduct, which left him little room for manoeuvre to make a clean landing. So, after the final steep turn, he had to immediately begin the manoeuvre in a small area surrounded by trees and bushes”.

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In the statement, von Känel describes the feat as a sort of lottery. “I was shaking all over when we managed it on the twentieth attempt.” He was inspired by an animation in which the red logo of Swiss television flew across the Landwasser Viaduct, while a Rhaetian Railway train passed overhead.

The Rhaetian Railway had been informed of the stunt in advance, its press office told Keystone-ATS news agency. Both the test flights – spread over several days – and the main flight had been carefully coordinated. “Following a safety assessment, the railways determined that a minimum distance of 40 metres must be maintained to the side of and above the overhead contact line.”

The 32-year-old from Bern, a Red Bull athlete and, among other things, an ambassador for the Ascona-Locarno region, had already attracted attention in the past with spectacular stunts. In 2024, for example, he flew through a 152-metre-long road tunnel in South Tyrol, just 20 cm above the ground.

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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.