Felix Baumgartner's widow shares footage of fatal paraglider flight as she pays tribute to ‘truly special' partner
The Austrian athlete, 56, most famous for jumping to Earth from the edge of space 2012, tragically lost his life in an accident while on holiday in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Italy, last week.
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His partner, Michela Radulescu, revealed how she held his hand in his dying moments - after he suffered a suspected cardiac arrest midair and crashed into a hotel swimming pool.
A clip shared by his grieving wife shows the moment the adrenaline junkie took off from a field to begin the flight.
Wearing shorts and a crash helmet, Felix fires up his propeller pack and runs across the grass - as he had done so many times.
The sail fills with air and lifts him up from the ground.
Felix soars high into the sky against a cloudless blue sky, getting smaller and smaller.
Michela, 55, a Romanian TV presenter, said she watched him disappear, "not knowing that this would be his last flight of his extraordinary life".
In a heartbreaking video posted to X, Michela says: "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."
She said that her "truly special" was "going home now, up there, where he was the happiest ever".
Describing the moment she lost Felix, Michela said: "He died doing what he loved the most - flying - in a happy place we came for the third time, with me holding his hands and shouting at him to FIGHT. The first fight he lost…
Skydiver famous for space jump dies in paragliding tragedy after crashing into pool
"Keep telling his story, specially to your kids - in a world full of Dreamers, teach them about the Dreamer who made all his dreams come true, working damn hard for every single one of them."
The Red Bull-sponsored athlete became a household name when he jumped to Earth from a space helium balloon in 2012.
He set world records for skydiving an estimated 24 miles and reaching an estimated top speed of Mach 1.25 (843.6mph).
The stunt also made him the first person ever to break the sound barrier without vehicular power.
His own tragic final Instagram post also documented the preparation for the flight.
Felix had been flying in a motored paraglider when he is believed to have suffered a "sudden onset of illness."
This caused him to lose control, with Baumgartner's glider crashing to the ground and into a hotel swimming pool.
He was reportedly killed instantly in the tragic accident.
Meanwhile, a hotel employee was also injured during Baumgartner's fall.
They were said to be struck by the paraglider as it hit the ground.
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