Felix Baumgartner, The Man Who Skydived From Space, Has Died In A Paragliding Accident
Baumgartner was known for many famous jumps
Daredevil Felix Baumgartner — best known for his jaw-dropping 24-mile skydive from the edge of space — has died in a paragliding crash.
He was 56.
According to The New York Post, the Austrian-born Baumgartner is reported to have gotten ill while piloting a motorized paraglider in Porto Sant’Elpidio, Italy.
Barumgartner's crash is reported to have crashed into a hotel pool, and he was killed instantly.
Just hours before the accident, Baumgartner posted an image to his Instagram story that showed a Red Bull windsock (Red Bull being a long-time sponsor of his) and the caption "too much wind."
Our thoughts are with Baumgartner's friends and family at this time.
Most people know Baumgartner — and I'd include myself in this group — for Red Bull Stratos. This was back in 2012, and was a project in which Baumgartner rode inside of a capsule attached to a helium balloon to an altitude of 24 miles.
He then jumped and out, and during his freefall back to Earth, he hit Mach 1.25 (843.6 mph), making him the first person to break the sound barrier without a vehicle.
I remember seeing this when I was in high school, and to this day, it's one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
While the jump from the edge of space is what Baumgartner is best known for, he had several other notable jumps and firsts.
In 1999, he set the record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped off the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
That same year, he also set the record for the lowest BASE jump — which, if you think about it, is way more dangerous than the highest BASE jump — when he jumped 85 feet from the arm of the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.