Felix Baumgartner made a chilling final Instagram post just hours before losing his life in a horror paragliding crash.
The Austrian daredevil died in an accident along the eastern coast of Italy yesterday (17 July).
The 56-year-old was well known for his 2012 stunt for Red Bull, which saw him break the world record for the highest skydive by jumping from the edge of space.
Baumgartner became the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound during the 24-mile leap through the stratosphere.
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Also known as ‘Fearless Felix’, he was flying over the village of Porto Saint’Elpido yesterday when Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella said reports suggested he may have suffered a sudden medical issue. Baumgartner then fell to the ground near a hotel swimming pool.
And his final post on social media earlier in the day suggested there were potential issues beforehand.
A few hours before the fatal accident, the daredevil shared a picture of a filled Red Bull windsock in what appears to be an airfield to his Instagram Stories.
The Austrian wrote: “Too much wind,” while he added the song ‘Sit and Wait’.
On his main feed, Baumgartner shared a video of him getting the motor of his paraglider ready as he wrote in the caption: “Man At Work.”
That video of him preparing for gliding is now flooded with comments from fans paying tribute to the skydiver.
“You are an inspiration. Rest in peace,” one wrote, as a second added: “Today is a sad day. Rest in peace Legend.”
“Fly high you incredible aviation legend,” a third commented. “You have been an inspiration to us all, defying everything that people thought was possible. Fly high.”
With another saying: “Wow. That moment 13 years ago was the reason I chose the career path I did. Inspired many, absolute legend.”
Ciarpella confirmed Baumgartner’s death on social media, as he said: “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.”
Back in 2012, he broke the sound barrier with only his body, wearing a pressurised suit as he jumped from a capsule hoisted more than 24 miles above Earth by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico.
Baumgartner topped out at 843.6mph (1.25 times the speed of sound) during a nine-minute descent.
“When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about of breaking records any more, you do not think of about gaining scientific data.
“The only thing you want is to come back alive,” he said after landing in the desert.
The daredevil also made thousands of jumps from planes, bridges, skyscrapers and landmarks all over the world. In recent years, Baumgartner performed with The Flying Bulls as a helicopter stunt pilot in shows across Europe.
The legend later said travelling faster than sound is ‘hard to describe because you don’t feel it’.
“Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are,” he said.
Topics: Extreme Sports
Jess Battison