Daredevil Felix Baumgartner was ‘dead before he hit the ground’: How the paraglider smashed into a woman as he plummeted into a busy hotel pool… barely missing crowds of playing children

Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner died after losing consciousness while paragliding before crashing into a woman and falling into a swimming pool full of tourists in Italy.

The Austrian sportsman, 56, lost his life at around 4pm Thursday in Porto Sant’Elpidio, Marche region, while flying a motor powered paraglider.

According to Italian local media, the daredevil, also known as ‘Fearless Felix’, was feeling unwell prior to making the jump, before losing control of his craft. It is thought Baumgartner suffered cardiac arrest mid-air.

The Austrian champion came plummeting down to earth, smashing into a wooden feature near the bustling swimming pool of the Le Mimose campsite.

At the end of his descent, Baumgartner slammed into a hotel worker. She was rushed to Murri Hospital, but her condition is not serious, according to reports.

The swimming pool was reportedly crowded at the time of the incident, teeming with playing children who were forced to witness the sport star’s tragic death, as per Repubblica. 

Some bystanders and staff attempted to resuscitate the athlete, but to no avail.

Baumgartner had taken off from Fermo, but while flying over the coast, for reasons still under investigation, he lost control of the powered hang glider. After the crash, he immediately lost consciousness and went into cardiac arrest. 

Emergency responders requested an air ambulance for transport to the Torrette Hospital in Ancona, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, who was also in the area as the pair had been on holiday, was immediately informed of his death and scrambled to the scene.

Felix Baumgartner has died in a paragliding crash in Italy 

Shortly before his death, the sports star posted a video on his social media

It showed him paragliding in circles over a field, completely unaware of the tragedy that was about to strike

Italian local media has reported the dare-devil crashed into the pool of the Le Mimose campsite (pictured) after feeling unwell before taking off

Shortly before his sudden passing, the sports star posted a video on his social media alongside the caption: ‘Too much wind’.

It showed him paragliding in circles over a field, completely unaware of the tragedy that was about to strike.

The city’s mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, confirmed Baumgartner’s death in a social media post.

‘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,’ Mr Ciarpella said.

His mentee, Diver Christian Redl, told of Baumgartner’s dedication and passion to his jumps.

‘He was very risk-conscious, a person who put a lot of thought into his jumps,’ he told Kleine Zeitung.

 The sports sensation was internationally known for his spectacular jumps. He became particularly famous in 2012 with a jump from the stratosphere in which he set three world records. 

Baumgartner dropped jaws after jumped from the edge of space, armed only with a pressure suit, a parachute, and nerves of steel. 

He free fell to Earth for more than four minutes, during which time he reached dizzying speeds of 843.6mph and broke the sound barrier, before opening his parachute and safely gliding down to land in New Mexico.

For the stratosphere jump that made Baumgartner world famous, the Salzburg native ‘prepared for over 10 years,’ Redl added.

‘He only jumped when he was truly confident.’ 

Baumgartner was an accomplished skydiver who had completed thousands of jumps before setting his sights on space.

His inspiration was Captain Joe Kittinger, a retired fighter pilot who had jumped to Earth from 102,800ft back in 1960.

Speaking to MailOnline in 2022, he said: ‘As a skydiver, you always want to push the envelope.

‘What Joe accomplished in the 1960s after only 33 skydives – this is what I call a true pioneer.

‘And I had a couple thousand skydives under my belt.

‘You’re always thinking, what more can I do? Go faster? Go higher? It’s always floating out there.’

Baumgartner had previously worked with Red Bull on base jumps, and reached out to them once again with the idea of jumping from space.

‘Because of all the trust I’d built with Red Bull with base jumps, we took on that challenge trying to find the right people,’ he explained.

This included his inspiration, Joe Kittinger, who agreed to help him.

‘Joe made it very clear the first time I met him – I’m interested but I’m only going to support you if you take it seriously. You can’t go from zero to hero. We have to do it the right way.’

The two years that followed involved rigorous planning and testing, which wasn’t always smooth sailing.

‘A lot of people didn’t believe in us, so it took us a while to convince people to come on board,’ Baumgartner said. ‘We had to be really patient.’

Felix Baumgartner of Austria gestures prior to speaking with the media after successfully jumping from a space capsule lifted by a helium balloon in Roswell, N.M., October 14, 2012

In 2012, daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of space, armed only with a pressure suit, a parachute, and nerves of steel

On 14 October 2012, millions of people around the world eagerly tuned in to watch Mr the record-breaking jump from the edge of space, which played out live across 77 TV channels and online

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner is seen after jumping from a transport plane above Dover at the start of his freefall across the English Channel between Dover and Calais, July 31, 2003

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner celebrates after his successful freefall across the English Channel between Dover and Calais, July 31, 2003

Baumgartner had previously worked with Red Bull on base jumps, and reached out to them once again with the idea of jumping from space

The plan was simple – Baumgartner would board the Red Bull Stratos capsule wearing a pressurised suit, before soaring up to the edge of space, guided by a helium balloon.

Once he reached an altitude of 114,829ft (35,000 metres), Baumgartner would open the capsule door and jump, free falling for four minutes before opening his parachute and gliding to the ground.

While the entire mission would take less than three hours, Baumgartner knew there were several things that could go wrong.

‘It’s a very hostile environment up there. If the suit fails, your blood would start to boil and you’d die in 15 seconds,’ he said.

‘The parachute could malfunction or you could flat spin, which pushes all your blood into your skull. If that happens, at a certain RPM your blood only has one way out – through your eyeballs.’

Following a briefing with a doctor, Baumgartner was told the ‘good news’ – if something went wrong ‘it would only take 15 seconds to die.’

The launch was originally scheduled for 9 October 2012, but was aborted due to adverse weather conditions.

‘The first test got called off, and we only had one spare balloon,’ said Baumgartner. ‘If the second test failed, we would have had to wait another six months to try again.’

Thankfully, Baumgartner woke up on the 14 October to better conditions, and felt optimistic for the second launch attempt.

‘You wake up a 2am and go out to mission control, do the weather brief and medical tests,’ he described.

‘They put on my pressure suit and then put me in the capsule. Once the balloon launched, it was a big relief – we were on the way.’

During the 90 minute ascent, several questions were going through Baumgartner’s head.

‘Will we reach jump altitude of 35,000 metres? Can I even open the door? It might be frozen shut?’ he described.

Despite surviving the stunt unscathed, his main concern was whether or not he had hit his key goal – breaking the sound barrier

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of his jump, MailOnline spoke to Baumgartner in 2022, who described his memories of the terrifying stunt – and why he would never attempt it again

Baumgartner was an accomplished skydiver who had completed thousands of jumps before setting his sights to space

Austrian space jumper Felix Baumgartner holds his Laureus Action Sports Award of the Year Award during the 2013 Laureus World Sports Awards, at Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro March 11, 2013

His worries were put to rest, however, when the capsule reached 38,969.3 metres (127,852 feet) and the door opened without a hitch, at which point he knew there was only one way down.

While you might think Baumgartner would be nervous at this point, he explained how he actually felt strangely peaceful.

‘I looked up and the sky was black,’ he said.

‘It was completely silent. All you can hear is yourself breathing. It was very peaceful.’

As much as he wanted to enjoy that moment, Baumgartner didn’t have long – he had already disconnected from the capsule’s oxygen supply, and now relied on an oxygen cannister, which would only last for 15 minutes.

He saluted the capsule’s camera, took one step forwards and jumped.

As he fell back down to Earth, Baumgartner quickly accelerated, going from 0 to 890mph in just 50 seconds and breaking the sound barrier.

His career began at a very young age, after he started skydiving at just 16-years-old. 

In 1988, he began collaborating with the Red Bull brand, and from the 1990s onwards, he also tried his hand at base jumping, leaping from skyscrapers, natural features, and bridges. 

He set several records and 14 world records: In 1999, the Austrian was the first to jump from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

In 2004, he jumped from the Millau Viaduct in France, and in 2006, from the Turning Torso skyscraper in Sweden. 

Then later on in 2007, Baumgartner became the first to jump from Taipei 101, which resulted in him being banned from entering the country. 

In 2003 he became the first man to fly across the English Channel in a wingsuit.