A parasailing accident in Mexico left a 29-year-old woman stuck floating in the air for about 45 minutes, before she fell hundreds of feet and crashed into the ground.
The woman suffered injuries, but fortunately survived the ordeal. She has since been flown back home to California, where she is receiving treatment.
Parasailing Gone Wrong
During her 29th birthday celebration in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on June 9, Katie Malone decided to go parasailing. The first few minutes of the activity went fine, but then everything went wrong for the birthday celebrant.
Malone noticed from up in the air that the boat that was supposedly pulling her was heading in another direction from where she was flying. She realized that the cord connecting her to the boat had snapped.
Apparently, strong winds due to an incoming storm caused the boat to flip, severing the cable that was connected to the parasail. Malone, who was expecting a 10-minute parasailing ride, was left to the mercy of the winds, keeping her in the air for a horrific 45 minutes.
After nearly an hour in the air, Malone started falling hundreds of feet. She then crashed in an airport that was almost 2 miles away from where she started.
The incident left Malone with four broken ribs, a broken pelvis, a collapsed lung, and face damage on the left side.
Brendan, Katie's brother, was just happy that she was alive after the terrifying incident. Their father, Kelly, then flew to Mexico to visit his daughter at the hospital where she was recuperating.
Malone Returns Home To California
The head trauma required surgeons to insert titanium mesh and 14 screws in Malone's head. Malone did not avail of travel insurance, but the cost of the initial operations was covered by a GoFundMe campaign.
However, things took a turn for the worse when it was discovered that Malone's pituitary gland, had swelled to about 10 times the normal size. The doctors at the hospital in Mexico said that Malone needed to go back home to California for further treatment.
The crowdfunding campaign did not raise enough money for an air ambulance to send Malone back home, but fortunately, former politician Duncan L. Hunter and current congressman Duncan D. Hunter decided to help.
When Malone landed in California, an ambulance transported her to the UC San Diego Medical Center, where she is now receiving treatment. Malone's family, meanwhile, are intent on filing charges against the parasailing company for the incident.
