BASE Jumper Found Dead After Crash in Utah’s Rugged Terrain

By Bethanie Hestermann

Published

10/02/2024

A BASE jump in Utah turned tragic when 27-year-old Jonathan Bizilia crashed after leaping from a cliff wearing a wingsuit. Bizilia, who was visiting from Alabama, failed to connect with his friend at the expected time after his jump, and his friend alerted authorities. Unfortunately, the young man had died after crashing into “extremely rugged terrain.”

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The Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office shared an update about the incident on its Facebook page. The Sheriff’s Office reports that the September 27th crash occurred near Willard Peak. After Bizilia’s friend notified search and rescue about a potential incident and provided crucial details about jump locations and flight routes, authorities began searching for the lost BASE jumper.

“Ultimately, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter located the individual around 16:00 hours, approximately 1 mile northwest of Willard Peak, in extremely rugged terrain,” the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office wrote. “Tragically, it was confirmed that the individual had crashed and had passed away.”

Bizilia was an experienced sky diver and wingsuit jumper who clearly loved living life to its fullest. For him, that included flying through the sky. In his final social media post, which he posted just days before the accident, Bizilia shared a video of him soaring in his wingsuit.

See the Sheriff’s Office’s full post about the BASE jump crash in Utah here:

Header image from Jonathan Bizilia’s Facebook page (December 2020).