Paragliding 'Santa' CRASHES into power lines on his way to deliver candy canes to children and is left dangling for an hour
A man flying a light aircraft while dressed in a Santa suit crashed into overhead power lines while on his way to deliver gifts.
The unidentified 'Mr Claus' was off to deliver Christmas candy canes to children in the Rio Linda community on Sunday, wearing a red and white suit as well as a safety helmet, when his red, metal 'sleigh' got tangled.
The 'hyper light' air craft was suspended around 40-feet in the air for an hour while he waited to be rescuedin Rio Linda.
Firefighters and highway patrol teams - who said it looked as though 'Rudolph lane-changed' Santa - received multiple calls from concerned onlookers.
Using specialist equipment, including 40ft, extendable ladders, rescue teams managed to free him.
Around 200 homes in the area briefly lost power when electricity was turned off to enable them to reach him safely.
Captain Chris Vestal with Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said 'Christmas is still going to happen, Christmas is not canceled because of this incident'.
The pilot was uninjured.
Santa left his reindeer-drawn sleigh behind and opted for a 'hyper light' aircraft to deliver some candy canes to local community and 'brighten spirits' during this 2020 holiday season, when he got caught in power lines in Rio Linda on Sunday
Sacremento's Fire Department tweeted a photo of the daring rescue of 'Santa' after his 'sleigh'- a 'hyper light' aircraft, got tangled in powerlines on Sunday
The pilot, who wore a red and white Santa Claus suit, was suspended around 40ft in the air for an hour before he was rescued by fire-fighters in Sacramento
'We typically don’t respond to a 'Rudolph lane-changed me' call, but when you get multiple calls... it’s best to go check it out', said California Highway Patrol, North Sacramento, who also attended the rescue, in a post on Facebook.
They added: 'Turns out Santa was trying to get some last minute fun in before the holiday and got into a hot wire situation', as reported by ABC10.com
The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said they did not know the 'cause' for the accident but that 'Santa' had been planning 'to deliver candy canes in the community to brighten spirits during this 2020 holiday season.'
Captain Vestal, of Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, added: 'Although the pilot had a mishap, he was actually out doing something really good for the community and in 2020, I think it's something that we all need.'
He continued: 'Christmas is still going to happen. Christmas is not canceled because of this incident, and we can look forward and say that there's a lot of positivity.'
The man is not the first flying Santa to take a tumble in the name of Christmas cheer.
In 2017 George Krokus was planning on making a festive surprise entrance to a charity volleyball tournament in Tampa Bay by skydiving down to spectators, where he planned to drop off a toy to a 9-year-old girl.
Instead Krokus crashed into a tree, a pole and finally the beach, breaking his leg, as reported in Time.
It seems the stunt has captured minds for nearly a century, with a Mesa-Journal Tribune, Arizona, report in 1932, in which a Santa impersonator 'jumped' from a plane in front of a crowd of onlookers who were 'horrified' when his parachute failed to open.
Luckily, it was just a mannequin, and Santa lived to tell the tale.
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