Paraglider falls 45 metres onto Florida beach

A professional kitesurfer in the US had a close call on Monday after falling 45 metres when the steering equipment on his motorised paraglider stopped working.

Damien LeRoy was flying over sand in Florida when his paraglider lost control.

In vision filmed by beachgoers he can be seen unbuckling himself from the contraption and hanging on.

He then lets go at as the device gains momentum and drifts higher into the sky as he falls.

Mr Leroy broke a thighbone, fractured his tailbone and parts of his spine and punctured a lung.

"He’s very lucky, considering. It was a freak accident in a lot of ways," friend Jon Modica told the Palm Beach Post.

Mr Modica said on Tuesday afternoon that Mr LeRoy is expected to make a full recovery.

"He’s cracking jokes and in very high spirits," he added.

Mr Leroy is a professional athlete, winning the 2011 Kite Slalom World Championship and named Kitesurfing Athlete of the Year by his peers the same year.

Powered paragliders involve a kite being attached to a propeller engine which is strapped the to the rider's back.

Riders take off from the beach in a running start, which inflates the kite above them.

They then use handles with a throttle and brakes to control the device.