Video: Terrifying moment paraglider thrown sidewise by dust storm

New South Wales - The man was one of 40 paragliding pilots who were preparing to take off for a cross country flight.

An experienced paraglider had a narrow escape when he was caught in a dust devil while preparing for a flight in Manilla, near Tamworth, New South Wales.
In a video filmed by his wife, the tourist can be seen as he is suddenly lifted up in a small whirlwind and swirled around rapidly.  
The man was one of 40 paragliding pilots who were preparing to take off for a cross country flight from a popular launch spot on Mount Borah in north western NSW.
A dust devil suddenly formed and headed towards the launch area, catching the paraglider and flinging him into the air.
The footage on News.com.au shows other pilots watching on helplessly before the man regained control and managed to eject out to the side of the dust devil.
The man's wife can be heard screaming in terror as she asks other pilots if her husband was okay. "He's okay," they confirm. "I never want to fly again," the panicked woman can be heard saying in the video.
Speaking to Storyful, Chief Flying Instructor at Manilla Paragliding, Godfrey Wenness said, "The pilot quickly regained control of the glider and flew away to continue on a relatively uneventful five hour and 180km cross country flight."
He added, "The pilot was uninjured by the incident. The paraglider was undamaged. The video was taken by his wife who is also a pilot."
The video captures other pilots battling strong winds as they try to secure some of the launch mats.
"Dust devils are the visible rotating core of intense updrafts of air and typically occur on hot dry days in certain atmospheric conditions. They can often be seen inland over dusty paddocks over the summer months and occasionally develop on mountain tops," Wenness added. 
In 2014, a 25-year-old German man fell to his death after crashing into the mountainside near Mount Borah launch spot. 
A 42-year-old man also suffered serious injuries after he crashed at Mount Borah in 2013. In a similar incident in 2017, a 50-year-old woman was airlifted to hospital following a crash-landing after gliding off the mountain.
Watch the harrowing video below: