Wingsuit Jump Kills Stuntman In Alps; Was James Bond’s Double At London Olympics
A wingsuit jump in the Alps yesterday went horribly wrong when Mark Sutton, aged 42, fell to his death.
Sutton, a professional stuntman, is best remembered for his legendary 2012 Olympics stunt. In that spectacular jump he wowed the crowd when he parachuted into the Olympic Stadium in London, during the opening ceremony. Sutton dressed up as James Bond, while his sidekick, who he jumped with, was dressed as none other than the Queen of England herself!
The tragic death happened in the Valais region near to Trient, in Switzerland. Swiss police said that Sutton crashed into a ridge when he took the jump in a wingsuit. Wingsuits are essentially jumpsuits which make the parachuter resemble a bat or superhero.
They enable the wearer to perform a wingsuit jump, enabling them to leap from heights and soar in the air for long distances before deploying their parachute.
Film Director Danny Boyle paid tribute to Sutton on Thursday, talking about the way he and his sidekick Gary Connery: ”made the stadium gasp… and left indelible memories for people from all walks of life all over the world,” during the London Olympics stunt
He continued to speak about Mark’s tragic death: ”The show was built from so many contributions from so many people, none finer and braver than Mark Sutton. On behalf of everyone in the show we were all honored to have worked with him and to have known him as a friend and a professional.”
Epic TV reported that Sutton was killed during a get together of 20 wingsuit jumpers who were filmed leaping from helicopters.
Connery, Sutton’s sidekick, who jumped with him into the Olympic stadium dressed as the Queen, spoke with a heavy heart to the Sun newspaper in Britain, about the loss of his friend, saying he was: ‘smart, articulate and funny,” and that: ”In any sport where you share a common bond you can make friends in a heartbeat that last a lifetime. My relationship with Mark was like that.”
The exact details regarding what went wrong with the wingsuit jump in Switzerland will be forthcoming in the coming weeks, as police open a full investigation into the incident.
