“Fearless Felix” Broke the Sound Barrier While Free-Falling in 2012

Felix Baumgartner, nicknamed “Fearless Felix” after he broke the sound barrier with nothing but his body in 2012, was recently killed in a paragliding accident near Italy’s Adriatic coast. He reportedly lost consciousness mid-flight for unknown reasons.

The accident occurred near Porto Sant’Elpidio along the Adriatic coast. According to Italian officials, the 56-year-old became ill and lost consciousness while in the air and crashed near a swimming pool. The cause of the incident has not been officially determined, though an autopsy is planned.

Baumgartner was no stranger to risk. In 2012, he captured the world’s attention during the Red Bull Stratos mission by climbing to 128,000 feet in a balloon before stepping out of the pressurized capsule and free-falling at over 800 mph. The jump made him the first human to break the sound barrier without an aircraft… just a space suit, parachute, and a whole lot of guts.

His 2012 jump was viewed live by millions and briefly held the record for highest skydive, until Google executive Alan Eustace quietly topped it in 2014 by jumping from over 135,000 feet. Still, Baumgartner’s leap remains one of the most visually and technically ambitious feats in modern aerospace history.

Born in Salzburg in 1969, Baumgartner began skydiving at 16 and later joined the Austrian military’s parachute demonstration team. He became one of Red Bull’s earliest sponsored athletes in the 1990s and soon gained international notoriety for base jumping off skyscrapers, including Malaysia’s Petronas Towers in 1999.

Following news of his death, Red Bull posted a tribute calling him “born to fly” and highlighting his professionalism as much as his fearlessness. He is survived by his long-time partner, Romanian TV personality Mihaela Radulescu.

FMI: www.redbull.com