One of the world’s best wingsuit pilots was tragically killed after he plunged from Table Mountain and crashed into rocks at 120 miles per hour, 1,000 feet below the surface.
The daring expert, 32-year-old Brendan Weinstein, was unable to stop in time and was seen by tourists crashing into large rocks near a popular hiking trail.
US pilot Weinstein – who left behind his partner Kivia Martins and son Eiger – had traveled to Cape Town alone for the difficult flight.
It is believed the Red Bull star took a cable car to the summit to hide his parachute and wings from officers, who would have stopped him if they saw them.
He then walked 15 minutes to a location that had seen wingsuit flights in the past and donned his equipment before diving ashore around 9 a.m.
Dozens of hikers, including British and American tourists, heard screams from above and saw him crash as Weinstein slammed into rocks, thankfully off the trail.
Weinstein, an experienced hiker from Utah, USA, had completed over 1,600 wingsuit flights, 800 BASE jumps, and 1,000 parachute jumps and was a world-class expert.
But his luck ran out Monday morning when he plummeted down Table Mountain, 1,086 meters high, crashing into rocks below less than 10 seconds later at 120 mph.
Weinstein, from Utah, USA, was an experienced diver and a world expert in the sport, having completed over 1,600 wingsuit flights, 800 BASE jumps, and 1,000 parachute jumps.
Wilderness Search & Rescue and SanParks rangers were alerted and dispatched teams along with a helicopter to search for his body at the front of the mountain.
On the BASE Death List on the wingsuit community website, Weinstein is listed as the 147th death since records began in 1983.
South African Police spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala said: ‘A man was seriously injured while jumping from the top of Table Mountain.’
‘He will have to be identified by DNA because the injuries to his face are so severe.’
The website of the deceased winger stated: “Weinstein’s flights continued to attract worldwide attention and were featured by GoPro, Red Bull, Roam, Marginal Revolution, MSN, and many other companies.”
BASE jumping, a sport in which participants jump from cliffs, bridges, or buildings before deploying a parachute, remains extremely dangerous despite advances in equipment.
Wingsuit jumping takes BASE jumping a step further, with a specialized suit with fabric stretched between the arms and legs, allowing the jumper to glide horizontally and control their landing before deploying the parachute.
BASE stands for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), or Earth (cliffs).
A spokesperson for Wilderness Search and Rescue said the search involved multiple ground teams and a helicopter in an attempt to locate his body.
He said: ‘We located the pilot who crashed just before 10 am but tragically he had passed away and his recovery has been handled carefully and sensitively.’
‘Jumping from Table Mountain is illegal and it poses a huge danger not only to the person jumping but also to the hundreds of hikers on the trails below.’
Kivia Martins, Brendan’s partner, posted a photo of them with their son on Facebook as she broke the news to thousands of his fans.
She wrote: ‘Dear friends, on January 5th, at around 9 am in Cape Town, South Africa, we lost Brendan too soon.
‘He was deeply loved and left a powerful mark on so many people.’
‘One day I want our son Eiger to be able to know his father through the memories of those who knew him, the moments, the stories, his impact on others.’
‘Please share a memory, a few words or a picture of Brendan if you feel comfortable doing so, which will be shared with our son when he is older.’
‘Thank you for helping me preserve the person Brendan was. It really means more than I can express,’ his devastated Brazilian partner said.
Brendan began skydiving in 2010 as a teenager and in 2015, he founded a company called BaseBeta to help people interested in the sport.
In 2016, he gained recognition for extreme flying over difficult terrain and was a star performer in the World Wing Suit League.
He had flown in the U.S., Brazil, Türkiye, China, and the Swiss Alps, but his luck ran out when he crashed off Table Mountain.
Hundreds of tourists were waiting for the cable car below when Brendan plunged to his death down the iconic mountainside.
Wilderness Search & Rescue and SanParks rangers were alerted and dispatched teams along with a helicopter to search for his body in front of the mountain.
The pilot was found seriously injured.
He died at 10 a.m. and was airlifted from Table Mountain to an ambulance surrounded by tourists on the road below.
Former SA parachute jumper Jeff Ayliffe said the jump was highly technical and Weinstein allegedly flew directly from the U.S. to the site without consulting local base jumpers.
Mr. Ayliffe said: ‘He didn’t contact any local base jump fraternities to talk to them about this exit point, and this exit point has been successfully jumped many times.’
‘However, it was a very technical jump and it has very sad consequences.’
‘Brendan Weinstein was considered one of the most experienced base jumpers in the world and he had a huge following in the U.S.
‘His technical ability was incredible – he had done so many jumps. This is just our third BASE jump death in South Africa.’ “These people are very aware of the risks they are taking,” he said.
