Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian extreme athlete nicknamed the “Missile Man” and “Fearless Felix,” died in a paragliding accident yesterday in Italy. He was 56 years old. Witnesses report Baumgartner’s paraglider began spinning “like a top” before crashing down next to a swimming pool in the Italian town of Porto Sant’Elipido.
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Massimiliano Ciarpella, the town’s mayor, posted a tribute to Baumgartner on social media, confirming his death.
“Our community is deeply impacted by the tragic passing of Felix Baumgartner, a worldwide figure, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flying. It was flying over our town, when a fatal illness took it away today,” Ciarpella wrote, inferring that Baumgartner may have suffered a medical emergency while in the air. (There is no official word yet on what happened to cause the accident.)
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In 2013, Baumgartner became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. In a Facebook post, his sponsor, Red Bull, wrote: “Felix was ‘born to fly’ [. . .] He was also smart, professional, thorough and meticulous, never leaving anything to chance. He was generous, giving much of his time to help and inspiring so many people.”
See social media posts dedicated to Felix Baumgartner upon his death here:
Here’s Red Bull’s tribute on Instagram:
Header stock image by Helmut Tucek/Getty Images. Caption: “Felix Baumgartner, world-renowned B.A.S.E jumper, is pictured in this handout in flight over Dover on July 31, 2003.”
