Felix Baumgartner, an ex-high-level athlete, tragically died in an Italian paragliding accident. Before the deadly flight, his partner had shared what he was doing.
A paraglider’s final moments were captured in harrowing footage moments before his plummeted to his death during a doomed flight.
Felix Baumgartner, who made headlines in 2012 by jumping off the edge of space, tragically passed away in an Italian paragliding accident on Thursday. The 56-year-old Austrian plunged into a pool’s side in Porto Sant Elpidio.
His partner, Michela Radulescuhas, has since released a heartbreaking video of Baumgartner preparing for the ride. She posted the video on Twitter and said: “For over 12 years I was there for every take off and landing, from skydiving, paragliding, helicopter flights, paramotor to aerobatic shows. And when I couldn’t be there for some heli flights, we had the WLC code – ‘the Wifey Landing Call’. Never missed one. Except …this one.”
In a social media post, Massimiliano Ciarpella, the city’s mayor, confirmed Baumgartner’s death. Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence and a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight, is deeply affected by our community, according to Mr. Ciarpella.
READ MORE: Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner killed in horror paragliding crash
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 24 miles above Earth by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico.
The Austrian, who was part of the Red Bull Stratos team, topped out at 843.6 mph, the equivalent of 1.25 times the speed of sound, during a nine-minute descent. “When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about of breaking records any more, you do not think of about gaining scientific data.
After landing in the eastern New Mexico desert, he said, “The only thing you want is to come back alive.” He broke the previous record set by Joe Kittinger, who was Baumgartner’s adviser in the process, in 1960, by jumping to the highest altitude ever.
Baumgartner’s altitude record stood for two years until Google executive Alan Eustace set new marks for the highest free-fall jump and greatest free-fall distance. In 2012, millions watched YouTube’s livestream as Baumgartner coolly flashed a thumbs-up when he came out of the capsule high above Earth and then activated his parachute as he neared the ground, lifting his arms in victory after he landed.
Baumgartner, a former Austrian military parachutist, made thousands of jumps from planes, bridges, skyscrapers and famed landmarks around the world, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. In 2003, he flew across the English Channel in a carbon fibre wing after being dropped from a plane.
He has recently piloted helicopter stunts for The Flying Bulls in various European countries. It’s difficult to describe moving faster than sound because you don’t feel it, he said later.
