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Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Felix Baumgartner's greatest stunts - space jump, English Channel flight and world record
Stuntman Felix Baumgartner has died aged 56, and the Mirror looks back at the daredevil's greatest and recordbreaking stunts throughout his career that shot him to fame Iconic stuntman Felix Baumgartner has died after a paragliding crash in Italy, aged 56. Felix reportedly complained of feeling unwell mid-flight - before he crashed into a swimming pool at a holiday resort, but his legend was cemented years ago when he undertook a skydive from the edge of space back in 2012. An employee at the resort in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Fermo, was injured by the crash, and whilst she has been taken to hospital, local media have reported that she is not in a serious condition. Children were playing in the swimming pool and surrounding area when the tragic incident took place, and despite the best efforts of emergency services who flew Felix to the Torrette Hospital in Ancona by air ambulance, he was pronounced dead. Felix Baumgartner's last tragic Instagram post before fatal paraglide crash Felix Baumgartner 'was dead BEFORE he hit the ground' near kids playing in pool It is reported that the Austrian daredevil may have suffered a cardiac arrest whilst he was paragliding, and before he took off on what would be his last flight, he posted on social media that there was "too much wind". Felix, a commercially trained pilot, repeatedly broke major records throughout his career, proving himself repeatedly willing to go further than his peers with his groundbreaking stunts. The Mirror looks back at five of his most daredevil moments. Skydive from the edge of space Felix made his name known the world over after a death-defying stunt in 2012 that saw him break the speed of sound, and skydive from the edge of space, back to earth. This one was no mean feat, and the professional took six years to prepare for the big day. From the major practicalities, like the team having to construct a helium balloon big enough to get him to the jumping off point in the first place - this ended up being the size of over 30 football pitches, and it was made from such delicate material it took 20 people working in syncrony to carry it from one place to another - to building the mental resilience required for such a challenge. Felix admitted to CNN Sports that it was the space suit he had to wear for the endeavour that he struggled with the most. Once it was on, he felt totally cut off from the outside world, and the sound of his own breathing was massively amplified. He worked with sports psychological experts to build up his endurance, because on the day itself, he had to wear the suit for hours and hours. For the first half of the fall - which lasted over four minutes - he had no training whatsoever, because the normal rules of skydiving simply are not the same in space, and it was not possible for him to replicate it anywhere else. He span, faster and faster, in one direction and then another, before he finally got closer to earth, and into more familiar territory, and completed his 24-mile freefall - and broke a world record. Flying across the English Channel Felix flew - and not in a plane - across the English Channel back in 2003. With a pair of wings strapped to his back, he jumped out of a plane over England and crossed the sea to France, floating all the way. He was the first to ever complete this incredible freefall crossing - but it wasn't the only impressive stunt he completed that year. Christ the Redeemer In 2003, he also parachuted off the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. The state is 30 metres high, and stands on the peak of the Corcovado mountain, which itself is 700 metres tall. Feliz jumped from one of the statue's outstretched hands - around 29 metres - and this also broke a world record, this time for the lowest base jump ever completed. Highest base jump world records In 1999, Felix broke the record for the highest base jump - something he would do again later - when he took on the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia. Standing at a whopping 450 metres, it was nearly a decade later when he decided to go again, this time, from just a little bit higher. Taipei 101 in Taiwan was in 2007 the very tallest building globally, and Felix parachuted off successfully, breaking the world record once again. The Millau Viaduct The tallest bridge in the world caught Felix's eye back in 2004: the Millau Viaduct, which crosses a deep French valley. When Felix took on this challenge, he jumped from one of the masts that stand 343 metres above the ground.
International Business Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- International Business Times
Felix Baumgartner: Daredevil Skydiver Died Before He Hit the Ground as He Plummeted on a Woman and His Paraglider Smashed into a Hotel Pool
Extreme sports athlete Felix Baumgartner is believed to have died after reportedly blacking out during a paragliding flight in Italy. The 56-year-old Austrian sportsman lost his life around 4 p.m. on Thursday in Porto Sant'Elpidio, located in Italy's Marche region, while flying a motorized paraglider. Italian news outlets reported that the thrill-seeker, famously nicknamed 'Fearless Felix,' had been feeling unwell before takeoff and eventually lost control of his glider. Authorities suspect Baumgartner may have suffered a cardiac arrest while in flight. The Austrian daredevil, fell rapidly to the ground and crashed into a wooden structure near the busy pool area of the Le Mimose campsite and died, according to reports. Tragic End Felix Baumgartner X At the end of the descent, Baumgartner, best known for his historic jump from the edge of space, slammed onto a hotel employee. She had to be rushed to Murri Hospital. Fortunately, her injuries are not serious, according to reports. At the time of the accident, the swimming pool was reportedly full of children playing, many of whom witnessed the athlete's tragic fall, according to Repubblica. Bystanders and staff members tried to revive Baumgartner, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He had taken off from Fermo, but while flying along the coast, he lost control of the powered hang glider for reasons still being investigated. After the crash, he was found unconscious and suffered cardiac arrest. Local media suggest that he may have suffered a heart attack mid-flight. Emergency responders called for an air ambulance to take him to Torrette Hospital in Ancona, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, Mihaela Schwartzenberg, who was nearby as the couple had been vacationing in the area, was immediately informed of his death and rushed to the location. Just moments before the tragic incident, the athlete had shared a video on social media with the caption, "Too much wind." The clip showed him gliding in circles above a field, unaware of the fatal events that were about to unfold. Fraternity and Fans Shocked Felix Baumgartner X Baumgartner's protégé, diver Christian Redl, spoke about his unwavering commitment and deep passion for his jumps. "He was very risk-conscious, a person who put a lot of thought into his jumps," he told Kleine Zeitung. The world of extreme sports knew Baumgartner for his breathtaking stunts, especially his record-breaking jumps. He became a global sensation in 2012 after jumping from the stratosphere, setting three world records in a single mission. Armed only with a pressure suit, a parachute, and incredible courage, he jumped from the edge of space, leaving spectators in awe. During his free fall, which lasted over four minutes, he reached an astonishing speed of 843.6 mph—breaking the sound barrier—before deploying his parachute and landing safely in New Mexico. According to Redl, Baumgartner, a native of Salzburg, spent over a decade preparing for the legendary stratosphere jump that cemented his name in history. "He only jumped when he was truly confident." Baumgartner was a highly skilled skydiver with thousands of jumps under his belt before turning his focus toward space. He drew inspiration from Captain Joe Kittinger, a former fighter pilot who made a historic jump from an altitude of 102,800 feet in 1960.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Watch Felix Baumgartner's historic jump from edge of space after daredevil's tragic death
As legendary stuntman Felix Baumgartner has died whilst paragliding in Italy, the Mirror looks back at his historic jump from the edge of space that shot him to fame In a tragic incident whilst paragliding in Italy, legendary stuntman Felix Baumgartner has died aged 56. The stuntman is said to have crash-landed in a holiday resort's swimming pool in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Fermo, according to local media, sadly injuring an employee who was on the ground. She has been taken to hospital but is not reported to be in a serious condition. The daredevil is said to have complained of feeling unwell whilst he was paragliding, before the commercially trained pilot lost control of the craft. The Austrian stuntman shot to fame after embarking on a daredevil jump from the edge of space itself back in 2012. Felix, it is thought, went into cardiac arrest whilst he was still in the air, and after crashing into the pool, which was filled with playing children, he was rushed by air ambulance to the Torrette Hospital in Ancona. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced dead. It was nearly 13 years ago when Felix undertook the stunt for Red Bull Stratos that would quickly catapult him to fame due to its unbelievably risky and high-profile nature - and it took him six years to prepare. After his many years of preparation, he stood on the very edge of space, poised to jump from 127,852 feet - a whopping 24 miles. "I'm standing there on top of the world outside of a capsule in space and in the stratosphere. I looked around the sky above me was completely black,' Baumgartner said to CNN Sports, "I was really trying to inhale that moment." Over eight million people watched the stunt on livestream, and heard the Austrian stuntman utter the now-iconic words, "Sometimes you have to go up to understand how small you are. I'm coming home now." Felix had to don a pressure space suit for the jump, which broke the sound barrier and, a deeply uncomfortable item, it took him a long time to get used it. Only able to hear his own breath and feeling totally cut off from the rest of the world once he was wearing it, the stuntman struggled, so he enlisted the help of experts like sports psychologists and psychiatrists to help him build the mental endurance to wear it for many hours at a time. The suit was not the only difficult aspect of the preparation: there was also the small matter of constructing the apparatus to get Felix up to the edge of space in the first place. The team designed a helium balloon that was incredibly delicate - and vast. The size of more than 30 football pitches, the material was extremely thin, and could easily be ripped, so it took around 20 people to move it carefully. The first part of the jump was unlike anything Felix had ever undertaken before, and he was completely unable to train for it. Skydiving in space isn't like a normal skydive - the same gravitational rules don't apply - so for over four minutes he was in total freefall, spinning in one direction, and then another, at ever-increasing speed. The stuntman couldn't train for this aspect of his daredevil jump, so he found the sensation truly "alarming". "This was a very alarming moment because there is no protocol," He said, about the jump, which saw him fall towards the earth faster than the speed of sound, at 1357.64 miles per hour. "It's like sailing without wind meaning your skills do not work." Eventually, conditions returned to familiarity, allowing him to lean into the experience and enjoy it more, and once he was finally able to utilise up his parachute, he could also open his space suit's visor, allowing him to breathe real air for the first time in hours. Once he was on the ground, he had to wait for confirmation that he had managed to break the record he was looking for and broken the speed of sound, and he was satisfied to learn he had managed it, and that his hard work was not in vain. "At that moment, I was really happy and satisfied because to me, breaking the speed of sound as a human, the first human in history, that was definitely something," he told CNN.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Felix Baumgartner 'was dead BEFORE he hit the ground' near kids playing in pool
Felix Baumgartner is understood to have complained of feeling unwell while his paraglider was airborne shortly before losing control and crash-landing in a busy hotel swimming pool Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner - who rose to fame in 2012 after jumping from the edge of space - is thought to have died after suffering a cardiac arrest mid-air while paragliding in Italy. The sportsman, 56, died at around 4pm Thursday, July 17 with local reports saying his craft landed in a swimming pool at a holiday resort in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Fermo, leaving one hotel employee on the ground injured. Felix is understood to have complained of feeling unwell while his paraglider was airborne, losing control of the craft shortly after. The woman hit by his paraglider was rushed to hospital, but is not in a serious condition. The swimming pool was reportedly crowded at the time of the incident, teeming with playing children who were forced to witness the sport star's tragic death, as per Repubblica. According to Italian local media, it is thought Baumgartner suffered cardiac arrest mid-air, reports MailOnline. Baumgartner had taken off from Fermo, but while flying over the coast, for reasons still under investigation, he lost control of the powered hang glider. After the crash, he had lost consciousness and went into cardiac arrest. Emergency responders requested an air ambulance for transport to the Torrette Hospital in Ancona, but Felix was pronounced dead at the scene. A few hours before the accident, Felix posted a video on his Instagram showing him paragliding in circles over a field, completely unaware of the tragedy that was about to strike. He also shared a photo of an airfield with the caption: "Too much wind." Felix Baumgartner became famous around the world in 2012 when he successfully completed a record-breaking jump from the stratosphere at a height of 24 miles (128,100ft). Felix's descent from the 'edge of space' in a pressure suit lasted around 10 minutes, and saw him become the first man to break the sound barrier in free fall. But, his career began at a very young age, after he started skydiving at just 16-years-old. In 1988, he began collaborating with the Red Bull brand, and from the 1990s onwards, he also tried his hand at base jumping and set several records and 14 world records. In 2003 he also became the first man to fly across the English Channel in a wingsuit The city's mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, confirmed Baumgartner's death in a social media post "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." Mr Ciarpella said. And tragically, just days prior, Felix posted a selfie almost directly above where he died in his motorised paraglider. On Saturday, July 12 he captioned the post: "Flying holiday greetings from Fermo Italy. Where are you vacationing this year?"
