Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner has died at the age of 56 after a paragliding accident in central Italy, according to the local mayor.
Baumgartner attracted global attention in 2012 when he became the first person to break the sound barrier (approximately 768mph) after completing a parachute jump from outer space, a height of 38,969.4 metres, reaching a top speed of 843.6mph.
Massimiliano Ciarpella, the mayor of the city of Porto Sant’Elpidio, said: “Our community is deeply shocked by the tragic death of Felix Baumgartner, a world-famous figure, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flying.
“He was flying right over our town when a fatal illness took him away today. Porto Sant’Elpidio wraps its arms around his family and loved ones in this moment of grief.
“On behalf of the municipal administration and the entire citizenry, I express my sincerest condolences for this unbridgeable loss.”
Baumgartner lost control of his motorised paraglider while flying over Porto Sant’Elpidio in Italy’s central Marche region, and fell to the ground near the swimming pool of a hotel, per Reuters.
Baumgartner’s last post on Instagram showed a video compilation of him preparing for his latest stunt alongside a picture with the caption “too much wind.”
Baumgartner’s famous October 2012 jump lifted off in Roswell, New Mexico, and was done on the 65th anniversary of American pilot Chuck Yeager’s flight shattering the sound barrier on October 14, 1947. He broke eight Guinness world records during the feat, including the highest freefall parachute jump and the fastest speed in freefall.
Speaking at a media conference that year about the record-breaking jump, Baumgartner said: “When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble.
“You don’t think about breaking records anymore, you don’t think about gaining scientific data — the only thing that you want is to come back alive.”
He gave himself the nickname ‘God of the skies’ and was also known as ‘Fearless Felix.’
Baumgartner’s long career in daredevil jumping included skydiving across the English Channel and parachuting off the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. He also performed a base jump from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Baumgartner glided 18 miles across the English Channel in 2003 wearing carbon fibre wings (Denis Balibouse/AFP via Getty Images)
“I hate it if someone calls me a thrill-seeker or an adrenaline junkie because I am not. I like the whole planning,” Baumgartner said ahead of his 2012 stunt, via AFP.
“When you’re standing there on top of the world, you become so humble … The only thing is you want to come back alive.”
Baumgartner attracted criticism in the past for his statements on politics. Following his jump in 2012, Baumgartner suggested that “moderate” dictatorships could be the answer to economic crises. In 2016, he endorsed Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria for the Austrian presidency.
(Top photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images for Laureus)
