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Daredevil Dean Potter has died while attempting a wingsuit flight from the 7,500 ft Taft Point promontory in California’s Yosemite National Park on May 16, a park spokesman said.
Dean Potter, 43, was one of America’s best extreme athletes.
Graham Hunt also died when their attempt to fly at high speed through a narrow gap in the skyline went wrong.
Rescuers found the bodies soon after contact had been lost with the men.
No parachutes had been deployed, reports say.
Dean Potter was regarded as a hugely innovative rock climber.
He was the first to climb Yosemite’s three most famous big walls in a single day.
Dean Potter was also renowned for his high-line walks and high-risk parachute jumps, some of which he carried out with his dog.
New footage taken from cameras attached to Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner’s body has been released to internet and shows the moment daredevil loses control.
National Geographic and the BBC documented Felix Baumgartner’s 24 mile plunge to Earth using more than 20 cameras.
The previously unseen footage is being crafted into a documentary about the 43-year-old stuntman, titled Space Dive, which is set to air on November 11.
But National Geographic has given a taste of the spectacular 4-minute, 22-second free fall captured by two suit-mounted cameras, in the program’s promotional clip.
The two-minute video captures the moment Felix Baumgartner steps off his space capsule and when he begins spinning dangerously out-of-control during the jump.
In the breathtaking footage, viewers can also see the curvature of the Earth as the skydiver spirals towards the ground.
Finally, Felix Baumgartner releases his parachute and the camera catches the look of relief on his face as he hovers to safety.
The full-length documentary will also include behind-the-scenes footage exploring Felix Baumgartner’s four-year metamorphosis from an elite BASE jumper to an extreme altitude specialist.
Despite his new status as a post-modern space trailblazer, the 43-year-old daredevil had publicly come out against NASA’s much praised Mars exploration project.
New footage taken from cameras attached to Felix Baumgartner’s body shows the moment daredevil loses control
“A lot of guys they are talking about landing on Mars,” Felix Baumgartner said in an interview with The Telegraph.
“Because [they say] it is so important to land on Mars because we would learn a lot more about our planet here, our Earth, by going to Mars which actually makes no sense to me because we know a lot about Earth and we still treat our planet, which is very fragile, in a really bad way.
“So I think we should perhaps spend all the money [which is] going to Mars to learn about Earth. I mean, you cannot send people there because it is just too far away. That little knowledge we get from Mars I don’t think it does make sense.”
Felix Baumgartner also offered some harsh for Sir Richard Branson, the founder and CEO of Virgin Galatic, who hinted that his company could attempt to break the Austrian’s record with a jump from 400,000 feet.
“It sounds like kind of a joke because it looks like he wants to use our positive momentum and gain publicity on his side and that is kind of lame,” Felix Baumgartner said, adding that the idea of someone leaping from 400,000 feet was “completely insane”.
Felix Baumgartner became the first human to break the speed of sound during the jump, reaching a total speed of 833.9 mph.
He also set records for the highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump and the fastest speed achieved by a human through the atmosphere.
“Felix is an explorer in the truest sense of the word, and National Geographic Channel was honored to be a part of this mission,” said the station’s Michael Cascio.
“And while the project itself is obviously groundbreaking, our exclusive inside access adds unique insight and perspective into this four-year journey, and is sure to thrill our viewers.”
Felix Baumgartner’s gravity-defying leap into history, which was watched by seven million people around the world, has made him a household name, but the 43-year-old said he has not gotten used to his newfound fame.
“It’s kind of scary, it’s kind of cool if you think about it,” he said.
“I have no privacy anymore. People waiting outside at four in the morning; it’s unbelievable.”
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Nik Wallenda, member of a celebrated family of professional daredevils, has completed a tightrope walk across Niagara Falls in a televised stunt.
Nik Wallenda braved wind and heavy spray to make the 1,800 ft (550 m) walk from the US to Canada on a 2-inch (61 mm) wire.
Thousands watched from Goat Island, where he began the crossing, suspended 150 feet (46 metres) above the falls.
It is the first such feat over Niagara Falls in over a century.
Nik Wallenda is the seventh generation of the famed Flying Wallendas.
The family has performed for more than 200 years, including the signature act that gave the group their name, where two pairs of performers walk the wire, each supporting another aerialist on a pole.
Those two aerialists, in turn, carry a pole upon which the seventh member of the troupe balances in a chair.
The family has suffered two deaths from falls while performing, including Nik Wallenda’s great-grandfather in 1978.
Nik Wallenda, 33, wore a safety harness attaching him to the wire, a precaution insisted on by ABC, the US broadcaster which sponsored the live broadcast of his walk.
Prior to the walk, he said he had not performed with a harness before, but that it would not take away from the event.
After he arrived, Nik Wallenda was asked to hand over his US passport to officially enter Canada.
The daredevil had estimated the total cost of the walk would be around $1.3 million, including creating and installing the steel wire, as well as permits and security on both sides of the border.
Legal liability had prevented ABC from funding all of Nik Wallenda’s costs and materials, so he had taken to online site IndieGoGo to raise further funds.
As of Friday afternoon, Nik Wallenda was 45% of the way towards his goal of $50,000.
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Jeb Corliss, the world famous stunt artist who almost died after crashing into a cliff during a botched leap from Table Mountain in South Africa, today posted incredible footage of the accident on his website.
Jeb Corliss, a 35-year-old Californian daredevil, broke both of his legs and was airlifted to hospital following the horrific smash last month in Cape Town.
The base jumper was being filmed for a television documentary when he careered into a rock face after leaping from the famous landmark wearing only a winged flying suit.
Jeb Corliss, who has spent more than five weeks in hospital since the January 16 accident, today posted a chilling video of the smash on the internet.
The incredible video lasts almost three minutes and is entitled Table Mountain Crash All Angles.
The video starts with a black screen containing a warning message: “May be disturbing for some viewers”, before showing Jeb Corliss fearlessly starting his stunt.
It shows the daredevil leaping from the flat surface of the mountain and soaring towards the sea.
Seconds later the accident can be clearly seen as Jeb Corliss’ legs smash into a rock face, sending him spiraling towards the ground.
The horrifying moment of impact is repeated several times from multiple angles during the video, which is played out over upbeat rock music.
Later scenes show Jeb Corliss deploying his emergency parachute as he realises something has gone wrong.
Jeb Corliss, who was wearing a camera mounted on his helmet during the stunt, then appears to bounce along the ground before coming to a halt in a bush.
A series of still images then show the moment of his impact in detail. They reveal how the experienced base jumper appeared to misjudge the distance to the rock face, which was marked by a helium balloon tied to a rucksack.
Instead of soaring over the cliff, he collides with the rocky outcrop from just below the waist.
Jeb Corliss almost died after crashing into a cliff during a botched leap from Table Mountain in South Africa
Following the accident Table Mountain officials said it was a miracle that Jeb Corliss had survived after he fell around 200 feet from the 3,500 foot-high landmark.
The stunt man, who has made a name for himself as one of the world’s most daring base jumpers, was airlifted to hospital and needed surgery on both of his legs.
Michelle Norris, spokeswoman for the Christiaan Barnaard Hospital in Cape Town, today said he remained there under observation and was due to be discharged on Friday.
The spokeswoman said: “Mr. Corliss needed extensive surgery on his legs and also needed skin grafts to repair the damage. He suffered serious and injuries and remains in the hospital, although he has been making good progress in recovery.
“One of the reasons he is still with us is that we needed to check how the wounds would heal from the skin grafts, but we hope to be able to discharge him on Friday. After that he plans to return home immediately to America to be with his family.”
Jeb Corliss’ video record of the incident concludes by offering thanks to those who helped rescue him following the smash.
A screen entitled “Special Thanks”, reads: “To the hikers that gave me water, to the rescue team that gave me life, to the hospital and staff that put me back together, THANK YOU.”
Jeb Corliss’ botched Table Mountain leap came as he made a documentary for an American television network. The daredevil has previously made headlines with a string of other base jumps.
The extreme sport involves leaping from buildings or mountains with only a parachute or winged jumpsuit to aid the jumper’s landing. Jeb Corliss has previously made successful leaps from the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.
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