Forsyth Man in Powered Parachute Rescued from Tree

A Forsyth County man was left clinging to a tree limb about 80 feet off the ground Thursday after a gust of wind blew his powered parachute out of control, authorities said.

The 47-year-old man, whose name has not been released, safely made it down to the ground with assistance by fire officials in about 45 minutes, according to Lt. Debbie Lindstrom of the Forsyth County Fire Department.

"We used our ladder truck and manipulated it around to position it to reach him," she said. "We extended the ladder truck, we had two firefighters that climbed the ladder, they secured the person with a harness and rope in case he fell."

Lindstrom said outside of a few scratches, he was not injured.

A powered parachute is a parachute with motor and wheels and is meant to be flown in winds under 15 mph and during daylight hours, according to Peach Sate Powered Parachutes.

"I think you're suppose to have pretty calm winds when you do it," said Lindstrom. "He said he thought it was wind related that moved him over to the tree top."

The incident happened around 5:45 p.m. near Shady Grove Road in north Forsyth, the same area of a fatal plane crash on Sept. 17 that killed Don Hershall Hall, 45, and David Jason Schorr, 40, both of Cumming.

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