Camilla Jessen
Extreme sports icon Felix Baumgartner has died in a paramotor crash in Italy.
Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian extreme sports icon best known for his supersonic jump from the stratosphere, died while paragliding in Italy, according to reports.
He was piloting a motorized paraglider when the aircraft crashed in a crowded coastal area, injuring a bystander and setting off an investigation by aviation authorities.
The incident occurred near the Adriatic coast, where Baumgartner had reportedly flown before.
According to Digi24, the Air Safety Agency has now seized the aircraft involved and is conducting a full examination to determine what went wrong.
Eyewitnesses Describe Sudden Descent
“I was here on the beach and I saw that paraglider suddenly fall,” said one witness. “I thought it was landing, but I suddenly saw it crash.”
That crash injured a young woman in the pool area of a nearby campsite, though she is not in serious condition.
Authorities say the outcome could have been far worse, given how crowded the location was at the time.
Investigators: ‘No Hypothesis Ruled Out’
At this stage, authorities are not excluding any possibilities.
The leading theory, according to Mocanu, is that Baumgartner may have suffered a sudden medical emergency during flight.
However, technical failure or other mechanical issues are also being closely examined.
“This aircraft, with which he made the last flight, was seized by the Italian authority for flight safety,” Mocanu reported. “It will be closely examined in order to discover any irregularities.”
The paramotor is a type of aircraft Baumgartner had tested previously, including in this region. It remains unclear whether the device involved in the crash was his own or another unit.
Vacation Turns Fatal
Baumgartner had been in the area for over a week, on holiday with his partner, Romanian TV personality Mihaela Rădulescu.
According to Digi24, she was informed within minutes of the accident.
The details surrounding the crash remain under investigation.
