Hang glider holds on for dear life after pilot fails to strap him in

CHICAGO -- Switzerland's civil aviation authority say it will question a hang-glider pilot after a tourist he flew over a picturesque Swiss landscape nearly fell dozens of meters (yards) to the ground because his harness wasn't properly attached.

A nail-biting video of the incident drew more than 1.4 million views on YouTube by Tuesday, a day after it was posted.

The video zooms in on the two men, noting that the passenger's harness isn't attached. After takeoff, the passenger dangles to the pilot's left, clinging to the glider's bar or the pilot himself. The passenger finally ejects right before the glider lands in a grassy field.

The passenger said he suffered a fracture to his wrist that required a titanium plate and several screws. He also tore a tendon in his arm from hanging on, he said.

Spokesman Antonello Laveglia of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation said it planned to "reconstruct the events" of the flight and would hear the pilot's account.

WLS-TV contributed to this report.