- The man was on his way to deliver candy canes to a Sacramento suburb elementary school.
- His powered parachute lost power shortly after takeoff, leaving him stranded in the power lines for an hour before rescue.
In a story that I kind of can’t believe hasn’t happened before, Santa got tangled up in power lines this week. Maybe St. Nick was trying to get a head start on his drop-offs for the year. Or, it was a guy with a powered parachute trying to bring some holiday cheer to grade-school kids in his Northern California town.
Kick-off the holidays with a little trauma.
They’re sure to remember watching Santa Claus fly right into some power lines and become entangled. Remarkably, the unnamed man survived without injury. Authorities shut off power to 200 surrounding buildings during the rescue because power lines are no joke. The fact this guy rode a metal contraption into power lines and got so tangled up he needed professional rescue but didn’t suffer life-altering electrocution is pretty remarkable.
The area neighbors knew the guy. He flies around in his powered parachute all the time, but this is the first time he’s a) dressed as Santa and b) flown into power lines. The fake Santa was on his way to deliver candy canes to the Rio Linda elementary school. It’s so wholesome that it seems cosmically unjust how the guy’s adventure ended.
This is my first time learning about powered parachutes. While cool, they don’t seem like the sort of aircraft you want to fly around the suburbs. They’re better suited for coasting over the Scottish highlands and other breathtaking vistas. But there’s probably not much else to do in the Sacramento suburbs, so it’s nice that the guy has a hobby, at least.
He hung upside down for a full hour before rescuers got to him. The FAA is currently investigating the crash. Their initial findings were that the aircraft lost power soon after takeoff and plummeted into the power lines.
A commendable holiday spirit.
He didn’t end up making it to the school with the candy canes. And his mechanical sleigh might be destined for the scrapyard. The firefighters who rescued him were in good humor about the situation. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Captain Chris Vestral commended the man in the San Francisco Chronicle, “We do commend him for [delivering candy] and can appreciate the timing to try and bring the spirit, especially this year.”
Vestral went on to say it was the first time they’ve had to rescue St. Nick in this particular situation. However, in 2018 he was on a call that found a Santa who got stuck in a chimney while he was robbing a bar.