Moment soldier falls from military aircraft after hanging his legs from Chinook helicopter ramp

Dramatic footage captured the moment when a US soldier caught his fingertips on a Chinook helicopter after being hit by turbulence while hanging his legs from the back of the plane.

In a widely circulated video, 26-year-old flight engineer Shane Sutton can be seen sitting casually on the edge of the ramp before the helicopter, flying over the desert floor, dramatically hit a “windsock coming down from the mountains.”

Sutton told DailyMail.com that the accident happened at the training area in Fort Bliss, Texas, prompting senior military officials to order the military to “change the policy” about sitting on the high-powered helipads.

Fortunately, the soldier was “strapped” when he crashed from the plane, admitting that he suffered only bruises that left him “super sore for a few days.”

After Sutton hits a bump as the plane was traveling over the desert floor, Sutton is seen hitting his head before dramatically falling off the back of the plane.

The viral footage, first shared in 2021 before being widely circulated in subsequent years, initially saw Sutton hanging his feet from the back of the $39 million Chinook helicopter.

After the 4,700 hp aircraft encountered turbulence, Sutton was sent flying and hit his head on the roof of the helicopter hanger.

He is then seen dramatically falling to the desert floor from behind, with his fellow soldiers watching in shock.

The 26-year-old has posted several images on his social media showing him hanging precariously from the back of planes.

While he admitted the video didn’t fly under the radar and was seen by “some pretty senior people” in the military, he said it didn’t get him in trouble.

“They let my leadership handle the situation,” he added, while the military hierarchy “made us change our policies.”

However, Sutton, who served with the 501st Combat Aviation Brigade, insisted the accident didn’t stop him from dangling his legs off again.

“I’m still on the ramp a lot,” he said, insisting that while military personnel are “allowed to sit there,” the accident meant they had to change “specifications as to when.”

Sutton has posted numerous images from his army days online showing him in the military aircraft

The flight engineer admitted that the in-flight fiasco earned him several nicknames, including “Slingload Sutton” and “Sky Surfer”

Sutton described his tour of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province as a “good broadcast with lots of great memories”

Sutton, from El Paso, Texas, served in one rotation to Europe, before being sent on a tour to Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, which he wrote on his Instagram was a “good send-off with lots of great memories.”

And according to his social media, Sutton has flown more than 700 hours in Chinook helicopters, including in Alaska, Afghanistan and Texas.

Noting his widely publicized blunder, he shared online that it was his year to remember after he “fell out of a helicopter and went viral.”

“Everyone laughs at me for it,” he added. “But it’s great, all my friends always send me the video.”

He added that he had earned several nicknames after the fiasco, including “Slingload Sutton” and “Sky Surfer.”

Sutton served on one rotation to Europe, before being sent on a tour to Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province

The engineer has flown more than 700 hours in Chinook helicopters, including in Alaska, Afghanistan and Texas