Photo: brendanweinstein.com
Brendan Weinstein, an American wingsuiter acknowledged as one of the world’s best, died Wednesday during an unauthorized flight from the top of Table Mountain in South Africa. The 32-year-old Utah resident, who was part of Red Bull’s wingsuit team, snuck his gear up on the gondola that takes tourists to the top of the iconic rock formation and hiked out of view to launch on the flight, which is only about 3,000 feet high. He got too low at the bottom of the slope and hit rocks next to a popular hiking trail going about 120 mph. No one on the ground was hurt but dozens of hikers witnessed the accident.
Weinstein had done more than 1,600 wingsuit jumps along with more than 800 BASE jumps and more than 1,000 parachute jumps in his career. He is survived by his wife, Kivia Martins, and their baby son, Eiger.
