Latest news with #parachuting
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Daily Mail
British daredevil base-jumper, 32, who worked on Mission Impossible died after ploughing into Italian mountain
A British base-jumper parachutist who worked on a Mission Impossible movie died after colliding with an Italian mountainside, an inquest heard. Dylan Morris Roberts, 32, 'died doing what he loved' while attempting a jump from a licensed jumping area on Monte Brento, near Lake Garda, on June 3, 2022. Mr Roberts, 32, of Dent, near Sedbergh, Cumbria, had performed well over 1,000 such jumps in his life and was known as being 'meticulous in his preparation'. A statement read out at Cockermouth Coroner's Court by a friend and fellow base jumper said that he held the highest possible qualification for parachute instructors in the UK, allowing him to perform 'tandem' jumps with learners. He had been a skydiving professional and instructor for more than 10 years and worked as a 'rigger' for stunts performed on the Mission Impossible film during Covid, ensuring equipment was safe for all concerned. And he had designed a 'bespoke parachute system' for a Tom Cruise stunt. Mr Roberts had arrived at the well-known jumping site in the Dolomites to further hone his skills, according to his friend, and began walking up to the 'Happy Birthday' jumping spot on Monte Brento, around 1,000 metres high, at 5am on June 3, 2022 with two friends and fellow jumpers. According to their statements, Mr Roberts, wearing a purple wing-suit, jumped second, after his colleague had landed safely at around 6.30am. They heard a 'loud crash' 20 seconds after Mr Roberts jumped. Their witness statements, along with footage from Mr Roberts' camera he was filming from while jumping, indicated that he had failed to achieve sufficient velocity to generate 'lift'. He had then 'aligned himself' into the most aerodynamic position possible to gain velocity, which caused him to crash into the mountain, the inquest heard. A post mortem found he suffered catastrophic head and chest injuries. His mother Catherine Morris told the court: 'Dylan was an amazing son, and an amazing brother. 'He was able to bring tremendous happiness and joy to us as a family and to those who he met. 'It was an extraordinary gift, he had an enormous smile that we always used to say wrapped round the world. 'It's what we all remember but it also reminds us he had so much love and so much joy to bring to us all.' His friend and skydiving colleague called him a 'charismatic, devoted and humble man'. He said: 'He was a multi-disciplinary expert who was a talented and respected skydiving and BASE-jumping specialist, but also an excellent teacher. 'Despite his undeniable skill and experience in his field, Dylan always remained grounded and he always strove to improve. 'He sought training as much as he offered it - the hallmark of an expert. 'Dylan was meticulous in his preparation and he handled risk in a considered way that only someone with his experience could do. 'Beyond his numerous achievements, Dylan had the biggest heart I've ever known.' Coroner Margaret Taylor said: 'This was a tragedy of monumental proportions. 'Dylan was clearly incredibly talented and much loved.' She said there was 'nothing to suggest there was anything unsafe in attempting that jump'. Ms Taylor found that Mr Roberts' death was accidental.
BBC News
01-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Skydiver Dylan Roberts died jumping from Italian mountain
A British parachutist died when his wingsuit failed to get enough speed falling from an Italian mountain, an inquest has Roberts, 32 and from Cumbria, was killed 20 seconds into a flight from a well-known base jumping cliff in the Alps in June 2022, his inquest was his death was a "tragic accident", Cumbria Coroner Margaret Taylor said Mr Roberts was a highly experienced skydiving instructor who took safety extremely family said Mr Roberts, who helped to co-ordinate parachute stunts on a Mission Impossible film, "died doing what he loved". Mr Roberts, from Dent, had gone with a group up Monte Brento at about 06:30 local time on 3 June 2022 and was the second person to jump from a 3,280ft-high (1,000m) point known as Happy Birthday, the coroner man who jumped first said he saw Mr Roberts, who was wearing a purple and pink wingsuit, fail to achieve sufficient velocity as he fell and then heard the sound of a loud impact, the inquest was told. A friend and a fellow parachute expert said he had reviewed footage filmed by Mr Roberts' camera and "for some reason difficult to ascertain" his velocity, which is required to make a wingsuit fly, was less than it should have said the jump should have involved about a minute of wingsuit flying followed by up to a minute of using the parachute, but Mr Roberts crashed about 20 seconds man said Mr Roberts had completed thousands of skydives and base jumps without incident and was a highly qualified and respected instructor who prioritised safety."If Dylan had seen anything that didn't look safe, he wouldn't have jumped," the man said despite how it might be depicted, base jumping was a highly regulated and popular sport with an "extremely low" level of accidents and injuries. 'Left legacy of love' Mr Roberts' family told the inquest he remained an "amazing" son and brother, who had an "extraordinary gift" of being able to bring "tremendous happiness and joy" to all who knew inquest heard he was born in Manchester, was a talented cross country runner at school and had been fascinated with adventurous sports from a young had worked as a skydiving professional and instructor for more than 10 years and helped to co-ordinate parachute stunts on a Mission Impossible film, the coroner family said Mr Roberts had told them his flying had helped him "understand the true meaning of life" and he "died doing what he loved", adding he "realised his potential" in his 32 years and "left a legacy of love". Ms Taylor said it was clear Mr Roberts was "passionate about flying but also passionate about safety".The inquest heard his death was caused by catastrophic head and chest coroner said his death was a "tragedy of monumental proportions" and he was obviously "incredibly talented, much loved and much respected".She said it seemed "unbelievable" he had died base jumping, given how experienced and safety conscious he was, adding: "There was nothing about the jump that suggests it was anything but safe to make."His death was recorded as accidental. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
NewsNation celebrates Fleet Week skydiving with Navy SEALs
(NewsNation) — As Fleet Week wraps up in Los Angeles, NewsNation took up an offer to skydive with Navy SEALs from two miles in the sky. During the fall from the sky, speeds up to 120 miles per hour were reached. Former Navy SEAL Team Seven member TJ Amdahl explained to NewsNation why parachuting is still necessary in the current age of technology. DEA warns of cartel-run fentanyl 'super labs' 'I'm thankful for a lot of the options that we have with drones and robots that are coming online in the United States Navy, but no matter what, you can't replace a human in a position of decision-making for that process,' Amdahl said. 'I like to say we have a lot of high-tech solutions, but sometimes a low-tech solution, like parachute landing, protects the aircraft and simplifies the problem.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
