Felix Baumgartner, Who Jumped From Stratosphere, Dies in Italy

Austrian extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner (56) died on Thursday afternoon in a paragliding accident in Porto Sant’Elpidio, a coastal town on the Adriatic in Italy’s Marche region. According to the fire department, Baumgartner lost control of his motorized paraglider due to a sudden illness and crashed into a hotel pool. He died instantly, emergency responders confirmed.

During the crash, a hotel employee was hit by debris and sustained neck injuries. She received first aid on site and was taken to the hospital. Baumgartner had taken off from a launch area for motor paragliders. His longtime partner, who was in the area with him, was informed of his death.

At the time of the crash, many people—among them several children—were near the pool. According to first responders, the tragedy could have been far worse. Baumgartner’s glider struck a wooden structure next to the swimming pool. Police, firefighters, and the Red Cross responded quickly. The area was sealed off. The accident occurred at the holiday resort “Le Mimose,” located 2 km from Porto Sant’Elpidio, spanning 30,000 square meters.

Baumgartner became internationally known in autumn 2012 with his jump from over 36 kilometers above Earth. He had previously jumped from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, flown across the English Channel with carbon wings, and repeatedly made headlines with daring stunts—and controversial statements. Born on April 20, 1969, in Salzburg, he had dreamed of flying since childhood. “I always wanted to see the world from above,” he said in an APA interview before his stratospheric jump. He trained as a mechanic and served in the Austrian army, where he learned parachuting.

Baumgartner completed his first base jump in 1996 from the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. He turned professional in 1997, sponsored by Red Bull. His logo—flame and the number 502—came from his registration with the American B.A.S.E. Association in 1998.

In 1999, he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and later that year from the Christ the Redeemer statue. In 2003, he flew with custom carbon wings from England to France. But his most iconic stunt was his stratosphere jump in 2012. He became the first human to break the sound barrier in free fall. The project took years of preparation and was nearly canceled in 2010 due to legal disputes. After successful test jumps, the final leap occurred on October 14, 2012. Baumgartner reached speeds of Mach 1.25 (1,357.6 km/h), jumped from 38,969.4 meters, and completed the longest free fall at 36,402.6 meters.

Afterward, he said he was stepping back from professional extreme sports to focus on becoming a rescue helicopter pilot. “I think I’ve done everything there is in base jumping,” he said in 2014.

Baumgartner often stirred controversy with political statements. In an interview with Kleine Zeitung, he said: “You can’t change anything in a democracy. What we need is a moderate dictatorship with a few private sector experts.” He received the satirical “Pink Handbag” award from a women’s media network for controversial posts.

During the pandemic, he also made polarizing remarks. In 2023, he was convicted of defamation for calling Falter editor-in-chief Florian Klenk a “dumbass” and a “pharma whore” on social media.

In a 2022 APA interview, Baumgartner said he did not regret any of his public statements. “I have the luxury and freedom to say what I think—and many envy me for it.” He said he also received plenty of positive feedback. “The media created a certain image of me. But anyone who got to know me personally sees me differently.” He added that media rarely covered his charity work, like arranging flights for children. “After four days, nobody talks about the shitstorms anyway.”

Italian media reacted with shock: “The man of impossible challenges didn’t make it this time,” wrote Gazzetta dello Sport. Corriere della Sera called him “the king of bold challenges and records.”

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl also expressed condolences: “Felix Baumgartner was a brave pioneer, a patriot, and a man of principle. He showed what’s possible through courage and determination.” Kickl added, “Felix Baumgartner will be remembered as a one-of-a-kind adventurer who dared to push the limits.”