Extreme skydiver Baumgartner dies in paragliding accident
51 comments
·July 17, 2025shabbychef
he died doing what he loved: descending from the sky to harass a guestworker.
theothertimcook
I only learned recently that Felix nearly had to pull out of the jump due to claustrophobia from the suit.
After CBT he was able to tolerate the suit and complete the jump.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/skydiver-felix-baumgartner-ove...
ASalazarMX
At the start of the jump he started spinning out of control, but he regained it later. I always thought he just got the hang of it, but if he was claustrophobic, maybe he panicked a bit before composing himself.
rich_sasha
Wearing a spacesuit, you can't scratch your nose.
You maybe don't think it's a big thing but try sitting one minute without touching your face.
DamnInteresting
This video says that the helmet mic serves as a decent face scratcher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VCuaZCRn1U
I've also read that many astronauts put strips of adhesive Velcro in their helmet for this purpose: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/42012/nose-scratch...
olddustytrail
I have no idea why you think this is a thing, but just in case I subconsciously tend to do this, I set a timer for 2 minutes without touching my face.
It was effortless.
Edit: wait, I've been in an MRI machine for over an hour where I can't move my arms from my side. How can you think one minute is anything?
more_corn
I always appreciate when a daredevil dies doing what he loves. Seriously, these people don’t want to die in bed. They want to live, live, live and then blink out. I’ve seen too many people withering away in hospital beds.
RamblingCTO
> He lost control of the craft and crashed into a swimming pool at a coastal resort, striking a young woman who was injured on impact.
not cool
toomuchtodo
Some grace is needed, as a medical event was the root cause.
edit: unexpected unconsciousness is not a medical event?
RamblingCTO
all we know is that we became unconscious, right?
shadowgovt
As generally people don't just nod off flying a paraglider, a medical event is extremely likely even if it has not been officially determined.
throwawayoldie
Also not cool:
> In recent years, he made headlines of a different sort with controversial political statements, criticizing German and Austrian migration policies and opining that a "moderate dictatorship" would be preferable to a democracy, in which "you can't move anything."
> In 2016, he recommended Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for the Nobel Peace Prize and endorsed a right-wing populist candidate for the Austrian presidency.
jjcob
I don't get why people can't just keep their stupid opinions to themselves.
That guy achieved some pretty amazing stuff, and I loved watching him, but then he starts publicly talking political bullshit to the media and it gets a bit hard to ignore that he is an asshole.
A lot of accomplished people are probably assholes in private, but they don't talk about it in public.
I wish Baumgartner would have just stuck to talking about the stuff he really knew very well.
ryandrake
It sucks when you find out an artist you like or someone who accomplished something you find impressive, is actually a terrible person. I suppose it's useful to be able to separate the artist from the art, appreciating the thing while acknowledging the person is flawed. This happens all the time with historical figures, authors, musicians, and so on. They build up this library of great work and achievement, but they somehow can't keep their opinions to themselves and end up outing themselves as bigots or worse. We can admire their works while condemning their beliefs.
kleton
Celebrities voice their political opinions in public for the same reasons you are right now. They have a strongly-held belief and want to improve their city, nation, or world. And given that they are well-known, feel a duty to use this platform to advance their beliefs.
southernplaces7
In summary: "Why does this guy have to have his own mind, filled with opinions and beliefs that I happen to not like, and then actually talk about them publicly?"
Grow up. One isn't an automatic asshole just because they don't share your worldview.
mschuster91
> In recent years, he made headlines of a different sort with controversial political statements, criticizing German and Austrian migration policies and opining that a "moderate dictatorship" would be preferable to a democracy, in which "you can't move anything."
That's putting it mildly. The full quote [1] is:
> Wie weit sind wir bereit unsere Identität und unsere Kultur aufzugeben und sie zu vermischen mit einer völlig anderen Religion und Ideologie?
or translated:
> How ready are we to give up our identity and culture and to mix it with a completely different religion and ideology?
That is 1:1 naked "great replacement" theory, the stuff that the vilest of the vile of the far-right believe in [2].
On top of that, he believed that domestic violence is acceptable in disciplining children [3].
[1] https://www.sn.at/salzburg/chronik/felix-baumgartner-wird-po...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Replacement_conspiracy_t...
[3] https://www.diepresse.com/1433977/felix-baumgartner-ohrfeige...
slaw
45.4 % of Vienna’s population are of foreign origin.
"Great replacement" is not a theory but a fact.
https://www.wien.gv.at/english/social/integration/facts-figu...
mathiaspoint
You label it correctly but have no counter argument. If they consequence of tolerance is destruction then tolerance is not a viable policy.
happytoexplain
I'm not familiar with the qualitative nature of the German/Austrian right wing right now (e.g. you can be an anti-immigration right winger without being Trumpian), but none of that sounds worthy of a dismissive attitude at face value.
Obviously I would not be surprised if he was a typical asshole about things like this. I just don't like the usage of those political opinions in particular as "this is a bad person" evidence.
throwawayoldie
> he recommended Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for the Nobel Peace Prize
mschuster91
That's because the stuff is wrapped in layers. Read the original quotes (I've translated in [1]), or run the German Wikipedia article through a translation engine [2].
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44597171
[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Baumgartner#Umstrittene_...
southernplaces7
From Wikipedia:
"On 13 July 2016, Facebook deleted his fan page of 1.5 million fans. Baumgartner subsequently claimed that he must have become "too uncomfortable" for "political elites".[48]"
Because of his pro-right viewpoints. For one thing, it's slightly amusing considering Zuckerberg's own politically convenient pirouettes on politics and management. Secondly, it reminds me why the argument was very much on the mark that social media in those days absolutely did work hard to shut don all kinds of opinions that didn't fit with dominant groupthink.
It's idiotic that a famous figure should be subject to such a deletion as soon as they deviate from a specific progressive discourse, even if one disagrees with its opposite in so many ways.
shadowgovt
Do we have a timeline of the deletion? I don't think I'm a priori convinced that he was deleted "as soon as [he deviated] from a specific progressive discourse." If anything, prior to Jan 6, 2021 (when Zuckerberg became aware that there was such a thing as aiding and abetting treason if enough political figures decided Facebook had been complicit in organizing an attempted coup), the site was permissive in the extreme; their goal was to maximize userbase to maximize revenue, and they were very loathe to ban anyone.
postsantum
> controversial political views
Why is this relevant in a eulogy? It reminds me of a Soviet encyclopedia for kids that had an obligatory part in every bio about what a person used to think about communism or some assumption what they would think if communism was invented during their lifetime
Disgusting.
perching_aix
Reflects on the image of a public person, whose politics they themselves apparently made a significant enough part of.
jjcob
It's relevant because that's what most people in Austria remember him for.
First he got famous for the Sky Dive from space
Then he made headlines for his facebook posts, sharing questionable opinions with the media, and supporting right wing politician like Strache (who is currently on trial for embezzling party money to fund his lavish lifestyle).
It's a part of his public persona, not mentioning it would be weird. It's not like he shared his questionable views in private.
EA-3167
He was on record advocating for dictatorship. I'm not saying that in a typically hyperbolic, social media sense either, he used the terminology himself. So yes, when a state news agency is announcing the death of someone who's major contributions have been some very impressive sporting achievements... and having political views that are fairly alarming coming from anyone, never mind an Austrian, it might come up. It wasn't a one-off either, he later pointed out Victor Orban as a model for how to handle government, immigration, etc.
If you want a eulogy I'd suggest seeking out the eulogy his family probably published, not a death announcement from DW.
NanoWar
According to the meme: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felix_Baumgartn...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Baumgartner
https://felixbaumgartner.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull_Stratos
https://www.redbull.com/int-en/projects/red-bull-stratos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYw4meRWGd4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raiFrxbHxV0