parachute

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'James Bond' Olympics Skydiver Dies in Accident

Mark Sutton hit mountain ridge while wing-diving

(Newser) - Mark Sutton, the stuntman who parachuted into the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony as James Bond, died in a wing-diving accident yesterday. Sutton, 42, jumped from a helicopter at 10,826 feet in Switzerland wearing a "wingsuit," an aerodynamic jumpsuit that increases the body's surface area and...

Army Ranger Strangled to Death by Own Parachute

Military officials to investigative what went wrong

(Newser) - An Army Ranger was found dead on the ground with parachute cords wrapped around his neck after a routine training jump in southeast Georgia—and commanders hope an investigation will reveal what went wrong. The fatal jump occurred yesterday afternoon as Rangers stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah conducted...

Man Tied to Skyjacker DB Cooper Murdered

Earl Cossey packed famous parachutes

(Newser) - A man in Washington state has been murdered more than 40 years after he packed the parachutes used by skyjacker DB Cooper . Earl Cossey, a former skydiving instructor, was found dead in his home of blunt force trauma to the head and investigators say they have no reason to believe...

Navy SEAL Killed in Parachute Accident

He collided with anoher SEAL during training in Arizona

(Newser) - A Navy SEAL was killed today during a parachute training exercise near Tucson, reports the Arizona Republic . The SEAL collided in mid-air with another SEAL, and the second man remains hospitalized in stable condition. Both men, from the East Coast Naval Special Warfare Unit, were practicing free-fall maneuvers when they...

Camera May Hold Clues in Skydivers' Deaths

Icelandic instructor, student die in Florida jump

(Newser) - Authorities probing the deaths of two men in a skydiving accident in Florida on Saturday hope a helmet camera worn by one of them will provide some clues, Tampa Bay Online reports. The instructor and student, both from Iceland, were found dead in a wooded area about a mile from...

Parachutist Jumps From 18 Miles Up

'Fearless Felix' Baumgartner well on his way to 23-mile jump

(Newser) - Skydiver "Fearless Felix" Baumgartner is working his way up to a record-breaking jump from 23 miles up , and today he jumped from a height of more than 18 miles. His altitude was an estimated 96,640 feet—almost three times more than the cruising altitude for planes, the AP...

Base Jumper Stuck on Cliff Calls Lover, Falls to Death

He calmed pregnant girlfriend as he awaited rescue 3 hours

(Newser) - A British base jumper spent three terrifying hours stuck on an inaccessible cliff face on the Greek island of Zakynthos before falling to his death. The 41-year-old jumper, whose parachute became snagged after winds blew him back onto the cliff he had jumped from, phoned and texted his seven-month-pregnant girlfriend...

2 Skydivers Die After Colliding in Air

Plunged almost 400 feet to their deaths

(Newser) - Two skydivers died in California yesterday after their chutes collided when the two were about 300 to 400 feet in the air, causing them to plummet, reports the AP . The men were pronounced dead on the scene after emergency workers failed to resuscitate them. Patrick McGowan, 42, was an instructor...

Daredevil Leaps From Antarctic Peak
Daredevil Leaps
From Antarctic Peak

Daredevil Leaps From Antarctic Peak

Russian endures extreme cold for 9,600ft base jump

(Newser) - Russian daredevil Valery Rozov has made a record-breaking base jump in a region even colder than his homeland. Rozov and his team endured temperatures below -22F to scale Antarctica's 9,613-foot Ulvetanna mountain, the Telegraph reports. He then leaped from the peak wearing a wing suit and flew for 45...

Teacher Guilty of Love Rival's Skydive Murder
Teacher Gets 30 Years for Skydiving Murder
UPDATED

Teacher Gets 30 Years for Skydiving Murder

Jealous jumper Els Clottemans sabotaged victim's chutes

(Newser) - A Belgian woman involved in a skydiving love triangle has been found guilty of murdering her rival by sabotaging her parachute , and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Schoolteacher Els Clottemans, 26, disabled the victim's parachute because she was jealous of the woman's involvement with a Dutch skydiver, prosecutors said....

Skydiver Accused of Killing Love Rival Via Parachute

Prosecutors say she sabotaged victim's chutes

(Newser) - A Belgian woman has gone on trial in Brussels, accused of murdering a love rival by sabotaging her parachute and causing her to plunge to her death. Els "Babs" Clottemans allegedly tampered with the main and reserve chutes of experienced skydiver Els Van Doran, who died after crashing into...

Parachutist Solves Rubik's Cube in Freefall

Skydiver makes short work of it at 14,000 feet

(Newser) - A German skydiver solved a Rubik's cube while in freefall 14,000 feet above the ground, the Telegraph reports. Ludwig Fichte, 29, sat in a rubber boat with a companion while solving the puzzle and gloating to friends—all in the 31.5 seconds before he deployed his parachute. Check...

Skydiving Bush Sr. Turns 85
 Skydiving Bush Sr. Turns 85 

Skydiving Bush Sr. Turns 85

(Newser) - George H.W. Bush celebrated his 85th birthday by skydiving over the coast of Maine today. The 41st president made a tandem jump with a member of the Army's Golden Knights parachute team onto a landing zone near a church in Kennebunkport, where the family has a summer home. "...

Bush Sr. Plans 85th-Birthday Skydive

Former president will jump near Maine home

(Newser) - Former President George H.W. Bush plans to celebrate his 85th birthday Friday by making a parachute jump in Maine, where he has his summer home. An aide said today that Bush will make a tandem jump with a member of the US Army Golden Knights parachute team. Their landing...

Novice Skydiver Lands Safely With Dead Instructor

Soldier says military training saved his life after instructor's mid-jump death

(Newser) - First-time skydiver Daniel Pharr had to think fast when he realized the instructor he was strapped to had suffered a medical emergency shortly after they leaped from the plane, he tells the Charlotte Observer. The soldier, copying moves he had seen on TV, pulled the toggles above him and steered...

Bill Murray Drops In on Air Show

Actor hurls himself from 13,500 feet for perfect landing at Chicago show

(Newser) - Wisecracking comedian Bill Murray launched himself from 13,500 feet to start off the Chicago Air and Water Show yesterday, AP reports. "Is there some frequent flier program?" quipped the 57-year-old actor before leaping from a plane and executing several spins strapped to the belly of a sergeant from...

DB Cooper&#39;s Parachute?
 DB Cooper's Parachute? 

DB Cooper's Parachute?

FBI studying chute possibly used by hijacker, found by kids in a field

(Newser) - A parachute possibly used by legendary hijacker DB Cooper has been found by children playing in a field in Washington state, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The FBI is analyzing the chute to determine whether Cooper used it to jump out of a plane with $200,000 in 1971—the nation'...

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