Austrian skydiver and BASE jumper Felix Baumbartner, famous for his 2012 jump from earth’s stratosphere, was killed in a paramotoring accident on Thursday, July 17, on Italy’s Adriatic coast. He was 56.
According to local reports, Baumgartner was piloting a paramotor—an ultralight aircraft that uses a wing-like parachute—when he crashed into a hotel pool in the town of Porto Sant’Elpidio, 170 miles northeast of Rome. The impact injured a hotel employee, local reports said.
The town’s mayor announced the accident on social media, and lamented the loss of Baunbartner.
“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,” Massimiliano Ciarpella, said in a social media post.
Baumgartner’s longtime sponsor, Red Bull, confirmed the news in a statement on its website.
We are shocked and overwhelmed with sadness to hear the devastating news of our longtime friend Felix Baumgartner.
Felix was “born to fly” and was determined to push the limits. He was also smart, professional, thorough and meticulous, never leaving anything to chance. He was generous, giving much of his time to help and inspired so many people.
We remember Felix as a lovely person, devoted to his family and friends, to whom we send our heartfelt sympathy.
A Skydiving Icon Who Pushed the Limits
Baumgartner rose to fame as a skydiver and BASE jumper in the nineties and early aughts by attempting record-breaking jumps from prominent landmarks. In 1999, he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Malaysia—a world record at the time—and shortly thereafter BASE jumped from the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He recorded other jumps that garnered attention—BASE jumping from France’s Millau Viaduct and from the Turning Torso building in Sweden.
“I was always looking for goals that no one had accomplished before, because even if you hurt yourself, you would’ve done something outstanding and unique,” Baumgartner said in a statement published to the Red Bull website. “So sometimes you really have to hurt yourself, you have to go through fire, but at least it should be worth it.”
Baumgartner garnered international fame in 2012 when his world-record jump from the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere was beamed live across the world. The stunt was titled Red Bull Stratos.
In a 2012 story, Outside estimated the cost of the project to be $65 million.
Baumgartner flew to the edge of space in a capsule that was pulled upward by a stratospheric balloon. When the pod reached an elevation of 128,100 feet above the ground, Baumgartner opened the door and stepped onto the ledge, wearing a pressurized safety suit.
He then dropped, falling for 4 minutes and 19 seconds. During his fall he reached a top speed of 834.5 miles-per-hour. His jump set a score of new records: highest manned ballon flight, highest altitude jump, and fastest human flight without engine power.
The livestream of his feat attracted 9.5 million viewers on YouTube.
But the fall was no cake walk—after a minute into his flight, Baumgartner began to spin violently. The motion could have caused him to lose consciousness, but Baumgartner managed to stabilize himself.
Eventually, his parachutes deployed, and he floated to safety near Roswell, New Mexico.
After the stunt, Baumgartner told Outside that the heightened media attention increased the pressure on him to get every detail right.
“The development took so much longer because we had to build a flying TV studio for live transmission, and, of course, if there is a camera in my face all the time, it’s not making my life easier,” he said.
When asked about his next daredevil stunt, Baumgartner told the reporters on the ground that Red Bull Stratos was his last.
“I am officially retired from the daredevil business,” he said.
