Felix Baumgartner, famed for skydive from edge of space, dies in crash in Italy
Austrian extreme sportsman lost control of his paraglider and crashed into a swimming pool
Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound during a 39km leap through the stratosphere more than a decade ago, died in a crash Thursday along the eastern coast of Italy. He was 56.
Italian firefighters who responded said a paraglider crashed into the side of a swimming pool in the city of Porto Sant Elpidio.
The city’s mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, confirmed Baumgartner’s death in a social media post.
“Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight,” the mayor said.
Baumgartner, known as “Fearless Felix”, stunned the world in 2012 when he became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. He wore a pressurised suit and jumped from a capsule hoisted more than 39km above Earth by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico.
The Austrian, who was part of the Red Bull Stratos team, topped out at 1,343km/h (843.6mph) - the equivalent of 1.25 times the speed of sound - during a nine-minute descent. At one point, he went into a potentially dangerous flat spin while still supersonic, spinning for 13 seconds, his crew later said.