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Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil who rose to fame during a record breaking free-fall from space over a decade ago, has died in a paragliding crash in Italy. He was 56.
According to Italian authorities, Baumgartner may have suffered a sudden medical problem before crashing into the side of a hotel swimming pool in the village of Port Sant'Elpidio in the eastern Marche region.
Felix Baumgartner led an accomplished career.
But the jewel of his career was his legendary 2012 jump from space.
I remember tuning in at school. My classmates and I, along with millions around the world, streamed his jump on YouTube, a jump that shattered previous altitude and speed records. Baumgartner was the first human to exceed Mach 1 in free fall without mechanical assistance.
Baumgartner fell for 9 minutes, leaping from 24 miles above earth and hitting top speeds of 843.6 mph before touching down safely in New Mexico.
His records stood until Google executive Alan Eustace's hot air balloon assisted skydive in 2014.
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“When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble,” Baumgartner said after the jump. “You do not think about breaking records... The only thing you want is to come back alive.”
"I'm going home now," he said before his space dive.
In a press conference after the event, Baumgartner waxed poetic. “Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are,” he said, reflecting on his stratospheric fall.
Felix Baumgartner’s death will send ripples through the global adventure sports community. He was a pioneer, a consummate professional, and above all, a man who lived and died chasing the edge of human possibility.
Rest in peace, Felix.
