Felix Baumgartner who defied space, lost to winds

Death works in mysterious ways, slipping through the cracks of time when least expected. It defies logic and does not follow any rules. Death doesn’t knock, doesn’t wait and takes away lives in silence.

The moment one is living his story, the next moment the page turns without any warning, leaving the streams of memories and achievements behind.

Austrian skydiver renowned for his record-breaking jump from the stratosphere Felix Baumgartner, unfortunately lost his life in a paragliding crash in Italy on Thursday, July 17.

The extreme sports pioneer, 56, lost control of his motorised paraglider while flying over Porto Sant’Elpidio and crashed to the ground near the swimming pool of a hotel.

However, the reasons for the ill-fated accident are still unclear.

Porto Sant'Elpidio's mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella confirmed the death of Baumgartner and offered his condolences for the demise of “a symbol of bravery and passion for extreme flights.”

An Epitome of Courage & Global Prominence

Felix Baumgartner, known as “Fearless Felix” rose to global fame in 2012 when he ascended to the stratosphere in a capsule lifted by a helium balloon and performed a freefall skydive from an altitude of 38,969.4 metres back to Earth.

In the backdrop of this bold jump, he became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body.

The Austrian, who was part of the Red Bull Stratos Mission, topped out at 843.6 mph, during a 9 minute descent.

Illustrations show Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner getting set to leap from his capsule at an altitude of roughly 71,500 feet March 15, 2012.

After landing in the eastern New Mexico desert, Baumgartner expressed: “When I was standing there on the top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records anymore.”

The jump from this jaw-dropping altitude shattered the skydiving record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger.

Later in 2014, Google Executive Alan Eustace surpassed the record by performing the highest-free fall jump and greatest free-fall distance.

BASE jumping from famous landmarks

Baumgartner, a former Austrian military parachutist, set multiple records for BASE jumps from famous landmarks around the world, including the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Millau Viaduct in France, and Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil.

Crossing the English Channel

In 2003, he flew across the treacherous English Channel in a specially designed carbon fiber wing after being dropped from the plane.

Illustration shows Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner during free fall across the English Channel between Dover and Calais

Awards and Accolades

Baumgartner also received recognition for his contributions in extreme sports including Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year award in 2013, and being named one of “The Men of the Year 2012” by Top Gear magazine.

Helicopter piloting

In recent years, he performed with The Flying Bulls as a helicopter stunt pilot in shows across Europe.

Given the fearless stunts and accomplishments of Baumgartner, it is hard to imagine death took the space-defier away in such an unexpected way.

According to Felix Baumgartner, “"Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are.” The world will always remember the stratospheric skydiver.