Felix Baumgartner, a daredevil known as “the man who fell out of space,” posted a heartbreaking last message on social media hours before he d!ed in a paragliding accident in Italy.
A 56-year-old Austrian skydiver, pilot, extreme sports athlete, and BASE jump pioneer made headlines in 2012 when he jumped 24 miles out of the sky.
Credit: Getty Images
He was flying an electric paraglider in Porto Sant’Elpidio when he reportedly got sick suddenly during the flight, which caused him to lose control of the aircraft, The Sun reports.
Baumgartner’s paraglider crashed into a swimming pool at a vacation spot. He d!ed right away.
When the paraglider struck a hotel employee who was on the ground, he suffered a neck injury. The employee was immediately taken to the hospital. People don’t believe he’s in a bad place.
The Mirror says that Baumgartner had said he was feeling sick while the paraglider was in the air, and he lost control of it soon after.
Baumgartner posted one last time on Instagram just hours before the crash that killed him. The post had a picture of the technician working on his paramotor and the caption said, “Man At Work #paramotor.”
The pilot uses tools to make changes to the paramotor before the last takeoff in the video.
Credit: Instagram/@therealfelixbaumgartner
He was shown a motorcycle by a female fan in one of his most recent Instagram stories. Then he pointed to a Red Bull wind sock and declared that there was “too much wind.”
In the last Instagram story, he was watching the winds. Thanks to Instagram/Felix Baumgartner
The man d!ed 13 years after he flew 24 miles in the air with a helium balloon and then came back to Earth at an astounding speed that was streamed live on Red Bull.
Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Baumgartner was the first person to break the sound barrier without an automobile. He did it at a speed of Mach 1.25, which is 843 mph.
Baumgartner said years later, “I wanted to be the first person outside of an airplane to break the silence barrier.”
It’s quite hard to do a perfect exit. Don’t turn too much. You can only use air to slow it down.
For the first 25 seconds, it looked like everything was fine. I reached Mach 1 after 34 seconds and stopped recording speed. That was the target we established.
I was mentally prepared to spin. It started and sped up. After then, there was nothing. There was no plan. It definitely took off. It was no longer about smashing records; it was about staying alive.
I was happy in the end. The landing was beautiful, too.
The news of Baumgartner’s de@th shocked everyone in the world of extreme sports and beyond.
Fans and friends left him comments full of praises and compliments, such “You are an inspiration.” Today is a sad day. Rest in peace. Legend, may you rest in peace.
People said, “Rest in peace, brother.” You are a great aviation legend. Fly free and high. You have inspired all of us by doing things that we thought were impossible. You are flying high.
At this sad time, our thoughts are with Baumgartner’s family, friends, and fans.