Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil renowned for his supersonic skydive from the edge of space, has died aged 56 following a paragliding accident in Italy. According to local police, Baumgartner lost control of his motorised paraglider while flying over Porto Sant’Elpidio in the central Marche region and crashed near a hotel swimming pool. The town’s mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, said early reports suggested he may have suffered a sudden medical episode mid-flight, and described Baumgartner as “a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flights.”
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Baumgartner rose to international prominence in October 2012, when he became the first person to break the sound barrier during a skydive from 24 miles (38 kilometres) above Earth. The historic jump, made from a helium balloon above Roswell, New Mexico, saw him reach a speed of over 833 mph, coinciding with the 65th anniversary of Chuck Yeager’s legendary supersonic flight. Reflecting on the experience afterwards, Baumgartner said: “When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble… the only thing you want is to come back alive.”
The record-setting leap also marked the highest altitude ever reached by a skydiver, surpassing the 1960 record held by Joe Kittinger, who advised Baumgartner throughout the project. His title stood until 2014, when Google executive Alan Eustace made a free-fall from even greater heights, setting new world records for both altitude and distance. Baumgartner’s daring accomplishments included skydiving over the English Channel and leaping from iconic structures like Malaysia’s Petronas Towers.
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Outside his sporting feats, Baumgartner courted controversy in Austria for expressing support for authoritarian governance and was involved in a legal incident in 2010, when he was fined €1,500 for assaulting a Greek lorry driver during a traffic dispute. Known to many as the “God of the Skies,” Baumgartner began parachuting as a teenager before moving into base jumping, cementing a legacy as one of the world’s most fearless aerial performers.
