07/18/25
July 17, 2025
Stratospheric Skydiver Felix Baumgartner Dies in Paraglider Crash: Felix Baumgartner, who in 2012 became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body, skydiving from 24 miles over New Mexico and achieving a descent speed of 843.6 mph, died Thursday in a paraglider crash off the coast of Italy. He was 56.
This got my attention because this type of thing seems to happen so much.
The death of people who have done remarkable things in rather routine circumstances.
For instance, Steve Fossett circling the world in a balloon and then dying while taking a small plane out for a spin.
Legendary rock climber Ammon McNeely sitting down to watch a sunset and falling off a cliff.
Someone once said (can't remember who, maybe Chuck Yeager) that it's the ordinary stuff that'll kill you, not the heroic stuff.
posted by beaverboard at 10:49 PM on July 17, 2025
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posted by tommybiden at 08:27 AM on July 18, 2025
Watching Felix step off that ladder and fall to Earth on livestream is one of my all-time top five moments in sports history.
posted by rcade at 10:04 AM on July 18, 2025
Sad to hear this about one who dared gravity. I would like to hear more details about his accident.
...but Icarus flew too close to the Sun. The wax holding the feathers to his wings melted, and he fell to his death in the sea.