Shocking moment surfer is HEADBUTTED by airborne shark – before saying ‘I'm happy its mouth wasn't open'
Wild footage shows Darren Kaye calmly sitting on his board when a spinner shark explodes from the water in a twisting leap.
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The animal smashed straight into his head, knocking him clean off his board at New Smyrna Beach.
The clip captured the fast-moving predator launching into the air like a missile - a signature move for spinner sharks during feeding frenzies.
After the terrifying hit, Kaye told local outlet WFTV 9: "I was just really happy its mouth wasn't open."
New Smyrna Beach, northeast of Orlando, is infamous for shark sightings - and Kaye said he had seen plenty of fins slicing through the surf before.
What he didn't expect was an aerial ambush.
"I got right back on that board and my pulse went to like 195 beats a minute in a second and I paddled as fast as I could out of the way," he said.
The impact, he added, was no joke: "I have a scar on the side of my elbow from [being hit by a car] and that's like what it felt like. It felt like getting hit by a car.
"It was really strong and powerful. They're all muscle, you know."
While spinner sharks aren't typically aggressive, the beach is also home to black tip sharks - and the notorious bull shark, one of the most dangerous to humans.
Still, the brush with Jaws didn't scare Kaye off the waves.
Shark attack reported at popular US beach as victim rushed to hospital just weeks after 1,600lb beast spotted in state
"We surfed there the rest of the weekend, we surfed there this morning, we surfed there yesterday afternoon," the surfer said.
"We always have waves. We are lucky."
The video, which was also posted on Instagram, quickly lit up the comments.
One user wrote: "That's wild!"
Another chimed in: "I got hit by one at inlet while up riding a wave. Thought it broke my arm when I put it up to block the impact."
A third added: "Had this happen to me at Navarre Pier.
"It hit my foot hard on its way out of the water and still landed next to my board. Fun moment, kept surfing."
And another person commented: "Some of them get pretty big. Saw a 4-5 footer hop out today."
With summer heating up, so is shark season on the East Coast.
Earlier this month, a 9-year-old girl nearly lost her hand in a more typical shark attack in Florida, and days later, a beachgoer in South Carolina was airlifted to the hospital after being mauled near Hilton Head Island.
But Kaye's mid-air run-in proves you don't even need to be in the water to have a close encounter with one of the ocean's most fearsome predators.
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