North Port man returns to Switzerland after hang gliding incident nearly took his life

NORTH PORT, Fla. (FOX 13) - Chris Gursky's near-death experience captured the attention of millions around the world. While his name might not ring a bell, you've likely seen the video of the North Port resident dangling after his hang gliding adventure over the Swiss countryside turned into a fight for his life.

"We ran off the hill, ran off the edge of the cliff, and we found out quickly I wasn't attached," recounted Chris Gursky.

Gursky's hang gliding instructor missed the most important step while preparing for the ride. He forgot to attach the harness to the glider.

It was a mistake that was only realized as the pair began soaring thousands of feet in the air.　

"It was fight or flight," said Gursky. "At one point I looked down and I envisioned myself falling, and I was like, 'This is not going to happen.' So I just did everything in my power to hold on as hard as I could."　

After the longest two minutes of his life, Gursky escaped with only a broken wrist and torn tendon.

"Seeing the ground come up and knowing that I was going to actually touch my feet on the ground, that was a relief," he said.

Nearly a year later, he's fully healed and headed back to Switzerland to get the hang gliding experience and vacation that he missed out on the first time around.

WATCH: Hang-gliding passenger holds on for dear life after realizing harness not attached

"I've always wanted to do it, and I'm going back and I'm going to do it," said Gursky. "Once I'm up there, strapped in, staring down the edge of the mountain, there might be a little jitters there."

Some people may think he has a death wish.

"[I get] a lot of 'you're crazy,'" joked Gursky. "A lot of 'what're you doing?'"

But Gursky is pretty confident that history won't repeat itself.

"I'm sure they're going to double, triple check me this time," he said.

Gursky will head back to Switzerland next month. He told FOX 13 that if all goes well, he plans to hang glide again and maybe even take lessons.