Extreme skydiver Felix Baumgartner dies in paragliding accident in Italy

Athlete was first skydiver to fall faster than speed of sound

Felix Baumgartner, seen celebrating after successfully completing the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos in 2012, died on Thursday in a paragliding accident in central Italy. Reuters

Mr Baumgartner with the Laureus World Action Sportsperson trophy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2013. AP

US actor Tom Cruise poses with Mr Baumgartner in Vienna in 2013. Reuters

Mr Baumgartner jumps out from the capsule during the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos in 2012. Reuters

Mr Baumgartner celebrates after successfully completing the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell in 2012. Reuters

Mr Baumgartner during a freefall across the English Channel between Dover and Calais in 2003. Reuters

Mr Baumgartner during the freefall in 2003. Reuters

Mr Baumgartner poses with the crossbow he used to scale the arm of the Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado mountain, and parachute off, in Rio de Janeiro. Reuters

Extreme sports pioneer Felix Baumgartner died on Thursday in a paragliding accident in central Italy.

Baumgartner, 56, lost control of his motorised paraglider while flying over Porto Sant'Elpidio in the Marche region and fell to the ground near a hotel swimming pool. The reasons for the accident were unclear.

He was best known for a record-breaking 2012 skydive from the edge of space. He was the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound, after jumping from an altitude of 39km.

Porto Sant'Elpidio Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella said reports suggested Baumgartner may have suffered a sudden medical issue and offered the town's condolences for the death of "a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flights".

The 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," he said.

Baumgartner, known as “Fearless Felix", stunned the world in 2012 when wore a pressurised suit and jumped from a capsule carried high above Earth by a giant helium balloon.

The Austrian, who was part of the Red Bull Stratos team, reached a speed of 1,357kph – 1.25 times the speed of sound – during a nine-minute descent. At one point during the feat, he went into a potentially dangerous flat spin while still supersonic, spinning for 13 seconds, his crew said.

Felix Baumgartner jumps from his capsule 39km above Earth. Reuters

“When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records any more, you do not think about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is to come back alive,” he said after landing in the eastern New Mexico desert.

The stunt also marked the highest altitude for a skydiver, shattering the previous record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger, who served as an adviser to Baumgartner. The altitude record stood for two years until Google executive Alan Eustace achieved the highest freefall jump and greatest freefall distance​, leaping from an altitude of 41.4km.

In 2012, millions watched the livestream on YouTube as Baumgartner coolly flashed a thumbs-up when he came out of the capsule high above Earth. He raised his arms in victory after landing.

Baumgartner, a former Austrian military parachutist, made thousands of jumps from planes, bridges, skyscrapers and landmarks, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. In 2003, he flew across the English Channel using a carbon fibre wing after being dropped from a plane. In recent years, he performed with The Flying Bulls as a helicopter stunt pilot in shows across Europe.

Baumgartner said after his jump in 2012 that travelling faster than sound was “hard to describe, because you don’t feel it". “Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are,” he added.