US EditionPartially AI-Generated Video Casts Doubt on Chinese Paraglider's 8,598m 'Cloud Suck' Ordeal
- Chinese paraglider Peng Yujiang claimed he was unexpectedly lifted 8,500 meters into storm clouds over Gansu’s Qilian Mountains on May 24, 2025.
- Peng said he was testing a second-hand harness on the ground when a sudden strong wind, known as cloud suck, swept him into the air without a planned flight.
- State media released a dramatic video showing Peng enveloped in clouds and ice while using a compass and radio to navigate, although expert pilots questioned the accidental nature of his ascent.
- A California digital security firm found parts of the footage likely AI-generated, leading NBC News to remove the video and re-investigate its authenticity amid growing challenges in verifying such media.
- The local Gansu authority imposed a six-month flying ban on Peng and suspended nearby flying activities, while the incident raised safety concerns and questions about the legitimacy of the altitude record claim.
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A Chinese paraglider came close to breaking a record and almost dying when he was carried more than 8,000 meters above sea level by an updraft. He managed to survive the flight at an altitude where the temperature drops well below freezing. His feat earned him internet fame, but also a six-month ban on paragliding because he failed to report his flight route in advance.
Channel News Asia
CTV NewsChina paraglider’s thundercloud survival claim featured likely AI-faked video
A US digital security firm consulted by Reuters news agency noted several inconsistencies in the video, including how the male paraglider's helmet was pictured white at first, then black.
A Paraglider Got Caught in a 'Cloud Suck' and Nearly Froze to Death Miles Above the Earth: Watch the Terrifying Viral Footage
Peng Yujiang, 55, had a camera attached to his glider that captured the near-fatal ordeal on Saturday, May 24NEED TO KNOWA paraglider in China was swept 27,800 feet above the earth when he got caught in a rare updraft Now-viral footage of the incident shows Peng Yujiang, 55, flying through the air while coated in frost and icePeng, who was somehow largely unharmed, survived temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees, as well as low levels of oxygen…
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