Porto Sant’Elpidio, Italy: Austrian extreme sports icon Felix Baumgartner, renowned for his record-setting 2012 skydive from the edge of space, has died at age 56 following a paragliding accident in central Italy, according to local police.
Baumgartner reportedly lost control of his motorised paraglider while flying over Porto Sant’Elpidio in Italy’s central Marche region on July 17, crashing near a hotel’s swimming pool. The exact cause of the accident is still unclear.
Porto Sant’Elpidio’s mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, stated that early reports suggest Baumgartner may have experienced ‘a sudden medical issue midair,’ and offered condolences on behalf of the town for the passing of “a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flights.”
View this post on Instagram
Known globally as ‘Fearless Felix,’ Baumgartner made history in October 2012 by jumping from a helium balloon at an altitude of 38 km (24 miles) above Earth, over Roswell, New Mexico. Wearing a custom-built suit, he became the first skydiver to break the sound barrier, typically measured at over 1,110 km/h (690 mph), and reached a peak descent speed of more than 1,343 km/h (834 mph) during the nine-minute fall. The jump coincided with the 65th anniversary of American pilot Chuck Yeager’s breaking of the sound barrier on 14 October 1947.
During the descent, Baumgartner entered a hazardous flat spin while still supersonic, spinning uncontrollably for 13 seconds, as later confirmed by his crew. Reflecting on the jump, the skydiver said that, “When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble. You do not think about breaking records anymore, you do not think about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is to come back alive.”
A former parachutist in the Austrian military, Baumgartner completed thousands of daring jumps from planes, skyscrapers, bridges, and global landmarks, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. He also skydived across the English Channel and parachuted off the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.
Later in his career, Baumgartner took on the role of helicopter stunt pilot, performing across Europe with the Flying Bulls. He dubbed himself the ‘God of the Skies’ and began parachuting as a teenager before taking up the high-risk sport of BASE jumping.
In addition to his athletic fame, Baumgartner was a controversial figure in Austria, known for expressing support for dictatorship as a form of government. In 2010, he was fined €1,500 ($1,635) for punching a Greek truck driver during a traffic altercation near Salzburg.
After his supersonic feat in 2012, Baumgartner commented on the surreal experience that, “Travelling faster than sound is hard to describe because you don’t feel it.” The skydiver also reflected on the philosophical impact of his journey and remarked that, “Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are.”
ALSO READ | Trump says Coca-Cola to use real cane sugar in US drinks
