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Fearless Felix, skydiver who jumped from space, dies in paragliding crash
The fatal crash occurred on Thursday, July 17, near Porto Sant'Elpidio, a seaside town on Italy's Adriatic coast. According to Italian broadcaster RAI and news agency Ansa, Baumgartner was piloting a motorised paraglider around 4 pm when he reportedly experienced physical discomfort and lost control of the craft. He crashed into the swimming pool of a local hotel and was declared dead at the scene.
Italian firefighters confirmed the paraglider struck the side of the pool. An employee of the hotel was also hit during the fall and suffered minor neck injuries, according to Italian media. The specific cause of the loss of control has not yet been disclosed.
Baumgartner's longtime partner, Romanian television presenter Mihaela Rădulescu, was present in the village at the time of the accident and has since been informed of his death, Sky Sports Austria reported.
Porto Sant'Elpidio's mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, confirmed the incident and paid tribute to Baumgartner in a public statement. '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,' he said.
Who was Felix Baumgartner?
Popularly known as 'Fearless Felix', Baumgartner hailed from Salzburg, Austria. Born on April 20, 1969, he began skydiving at a young age and trained as a paratrooper in the Austrian military. Baumgartner built a reputation on high-risk, high-precision feats. In 1999, he made the world's lowest base jump, from the arm of Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue, and the same year completed the highest building jump from Malaysia's Petronas Towers.
In 2003, he crossed the English Channel in freefall using a carbon-fibre wingsuit. His career was defined not only by records but by his relentless push against the boundaries of flight and human endurance.
Skydiving from the edge of space
Baumgartner rose to fame on October 14, 2012, when he leapt from a pressurised capsule suspended 128,100 feet (39,045 meters) above Earth by a helium balloon. The Red Bull Stratos project saw him become the first human to break the sound barrier in freefall, reaching a top speed of 843.6 mph, about 1.25 times the speed of sound, before safely parachuting into the New Mexico desert.
Broadcast live to millions, the nine-minute descent broke multiple world records, including the highest-ever manned balloon flight, the highest parachute jump, and the fastest freefall. At one point during the fall, Baumgartner entered a flat spin while still supersonic, spinning uncontrollably for 13 seconds before recovering.
A record-breaking moment of humility
The stunt was supervised by Joe Kittinger, a retired US Air Force officer and previous record-holder, who served as an advisor on the mission.
'When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble,' Baumgartner said afterwards. 'You don't think about breaking records anymore, you don't think about gaining scientific data — the only thing that you want is to come back alive.'
Though his altitude record was surpassed in 2014 by Google executive Alan Eustace, the 2012 Red Bull Stratos jump remains one of the most iconic moments in modern extreme sports. He is survived by Rădulescu, his family, and a global community of fans, aviators, and extreme sports enthusiasts who viewed him as the embodiment of fearless ambition.
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