Felix Baumgartner, adventurer who once jumped to Earth from edge of space, dies at 56
The famous adventurer died while paragliding on Italy’s Adriatic coast. His legacy includes a number of world records—including his iconic jump to Earth from the edge of space.
Felix Baumgartner, the world-renowned Austrian pilot who was named National Geographic’s 2013 People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year for his fearless aerial feats, has died in Italy.
According to local media reports, the pilot died after crashing into a hotel pool while paragliding on the Adriatic coast, injuring another person in the accident.
National Geographic has reached out to Baumgartner’s representatives.
According to the Associated Press, the city’s mayor 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,” Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella said.
Baumgartner leaves behind a soaring legacy, setting a world record for jumping to Earth from the edge of space in a freefall that broke the sound barrier.
(See Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking freefall jump from the stratosphere)
Into thin air
The BASE jumper got his start on solid ground in his birthplace of Salzburg, Austria. But he was called to the sky from a young age, drawing a picture of himself equipped with parachutes and dreaming of life in thin air. By 16 he had made his first skydive, and he became an exhibition skydiver for Red Bull, then a nascent brand, in 1988.
Soon, Baumgartner expanded his aerial repertoire with BASE jumping, in which a parachuted jumper leaps from a fixed object or landform. Fourteen world records followed as Baumgartner became known for BASE jumping off cliffs, airplanes, and even from the top of the cultural icons.
“I know that I can die undertaking the kinds of jumps that I do,” he told National Geographic in 2010. “When I was ready to BASE jump from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, only 95 feet from the ground, it crossed my mind that in less than three seconds I could cease to exist. But I don’t have a death wish. I wouldn’t even say that I’m a thrill seeker or adrenaline junkie. I’m a person who likes a challenge.”
The edge of space
By 2012, Baumgartner was in his forties and ready for a new challenge: setting a world record by jumping to Earth from the edge of space and becoming the world’s fastest falling human in the process. The Red Bull STRATOS project took Baumgartner 24 miles to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere in a capsule attached to a helium balloon the size of 33 football fields.
On October 14, 2012, as millions watched via livestream, Baumgartner, clad in a special suit, jumped from the capsule into the highest freefall of all time. His 24.2-mile fall broke the sound barrier, thrusting him downward at a top speed of 844 miles an hour.
The next year, more than 55,000 voters cast votes for National Geographic’s 2013 People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. They chose Baumgartner.
“Adventure is life,” he told National Geographic’s Mary Anne Potts that year. “It’s how we learn…it’s exploration.” Far from being an adrenaline junkie, Baumgartner again said that his feats were accomplished only with diligent planning, teamwork, and the discipline to learn from each new adventure.
(Read how exploration changed Baumgartner's life from our 2013 interview.)
Always looking for the next challenge
After his freefall from space, Baumgartner focused on charity helicopter flights and fundraising for humanitarian projects. He also participated in other sports like racecar driving and motorcycle riding. “If I am not in the air but still need some wind around my neck this is the way to go,” he wrote of his KTM Superduke 990 R motorcycle.
“Once I’ve reached a goal I’m always looking for the next challenge,” Baumgartner said in 2013. “It was a great moment. But I want more.”
In more recent years, Baumgartner stirred controversy with political statements criticizing European refugee policies and endorsing the concept of a “moderate dictatorship.”
He was 56.
