Friday Night Reads

 Obit:  Daredevil, skydiver, BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner, 56, died in a paragliding accident.  He tempted fate once too many times.

I mentioned him here on this blog previously, when he made his 2012 record-breaking stratosphere jump.

The accident happened in Italy:

The city’s mayor confirmed the death of 56-year-old Baumgartner, who was renowned as the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound. The cause of the paragliding accident was under investigation. Police did not return calls asking for comment.

“It is a destiny that is very hard to comprehend for a man who has broke all kinds of records, who has been an icon of flight, and who traveled through space,” Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella told The Associated Press.

__

Being 56, some have speculated he may have had a health issue, thus causing the crash.

____________________________

He Made It

Felix Baumgartner just landed, and he's okay and walking around. He landed on his feet as if he jumped from a second story window rather than from parachuting some 25 miles up.

More info is here.