Man dressed as Santa rescued after powered parachute flew power lines near Sacramento

RIO LINDA, Calif. (KGO) -- A man dressed as Santa Claus on a powered parachute had to be rescued after getting tangled in power lines near Sacramento, California on Sunday morning.

The Federal Aviation Authority reported that the man took off in a powered parachute near a school in Rio Linda around 11 a.m. The powered parachute is a glider with a small engine and fan.

"We see him flying around all of the time," said Rio Linda resident Crystal Kennedy. "It's like some kind of go-kart with a parachute on top of it."

Officials say the man was on his way to spread some holiday cheer when his engine failed and he got caught in some power lines.

"He was actually gliding over here to drop off some candy canes to the kids and that's when he experienced engine problems," Kennedy said. "I guess he thought he could make it back to the airport but it didn't happen."

Sacramento Metro Fire crews were able to rescue the man. About 200 customers lost power while crews worked.

Santa was brought down safely and no one was hurt in the incident.