Felix Baumgartner, Legendary Skydiver Who Broke Sound Barrier, Dies in Paragliding Crash in Italy
- Victor Nwoko
- Jul 19
- 3 min read
Felix Baumgartner, the world-renowned Austrian daredevil best known for breaking the sound barrier during a record-setting skydive in 2012, died Thursday in a tragic paragliding accident near the Adriatic coast of Italy. The 56-year-old extreme athlete was piloting a motorized paraglider when the aircraft spun out of control and crashed near a swimming pool in the seaside town of Porto Sant’Elpidio, in the Marche region.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud boom as the paraglider went into a deadly spin. Mirella Ivanov, a 30-year-old mother watching with her two young children, described the harrowing moment. “Everything was normal, then it started to spin like a top. It went down and we heard a roar. I turned around because I thought it crashed on the rocks,” she recalled. “Then I saw lifeguards running, people rushing toward the crash site. When I saw people trying to revive the man, I grabbed my children and walked away.”
Baumgartner was confirmed dead at the scene. The cause of the crash is under investigation, and while local police have not yet commented, authorities suspect a sudden medical emergency may have played a role. He had reportedly been vacationing in the area and was seen days earlier paramotoring above coastal towns and launching from nearby airfields.
Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella expressed shock at the loss. “It is a destiny very hard to comprehend for a man who broke all kinds of records, who has been an icon of flight, and who traveled through space,” he said.
The crash occurred near the Club del Sole Le Mimose beach resort, where one employee sustained minor injuries but is in stable condition. No guests were harmed, and the pool has since reopened.
Baumgartner earned global fame in 2012 when he became the first human to break the sound barrier without the aid of an aircraft. As part of the Red Bull Stratos team, he leaped from a capsule suspended 24 miles above Earth by a helium balloon, reaching speeds of 843.6 mph during a nine-minute descent. Millions watched the livestream as he gave a thumbs-up before jumping, and triumphantly raised his arms after landing safely in the New Mexico desert.
Throughout his storied career, Baumgartner completed thousands of high-risk jumps from planes, skyscrapers, bridges, and iconic landmarks — including Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue. In 2003, he flew across the English Channel using a custom carbon fiber wing. In recent years, he had become a helicopter stunt pilot with The Flying Bulls, an aviation performance team sponsored by Red Bull.
On Friday, Red Bull released a heartfelt tribute: “Precise, demanding and critical — with others, but above all toward yourself. No detail was too small, no risk too great, because you were capable of calculating it.” The company praised Baumgartner’s courage and commitment to pushing the boundaries of human flight.
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