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Extreme athlete Vincent Reffet was also called the “Jetmam”
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Vincent Reffet was famous for his daring actions. The “Jetman” jumped from the Burj Khalifa and flew with four engines on its body through the Heavenly Gate in China. Now the extreme athlete has died in a training accident.
Dhe Frenchman Vincent Reffet, who became known as “Jetman” in Dubai, had a fatal accident. The 36-year-old had an accident while training in the desert, the organization Jetman Dubai announced on Tuesday. Further details were not given. “Our thoughts and prayers go with his family and everyone who knew him and worked with him,” it said. The aviation authority of the United Arab Emirates initially did not respond to inquiries about the accident.
Vince Reffet passed away at the age of 36
Source: AFP / JOEL SAGET
Reffet had made a name for itself through breathtaking actions. The son of two parachutists worked as an extreme athlete and jumped in Dubai from the 828 meter high Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
In 2020 Reffet flew through the skies in Dubai
Source: AFP / –
With Jetman Dubai, founded by the Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy, he flew with a carbon wing strapped to his back and four engines over the skyline of Dubai in an Airbus A380. The device reaches a top speed of 400 kilometers per hour and a maximum flight altitude of 6100 meters.
At 400 km / h through the Heavenly Gate in China
He had already experienced the feeling of freedom as a parachutist, Reffet told the AP news agency in 2015. Although he had the impression that he could actually go anywhere, it always went downhill. “With this machine (…) I can fly like a bird.”
He was also known for his flight through the so-called Heaven’s Gate, a 130 meter high and 30 meter wide natural opening in a mountain in Tianmen National Park in the Chinese province of Hunan. Reffets flight equipment consisted of carbon fiber wings, which were propelled by four small jet engines. The athlete could control the equipment by moving his body. During his daring flight he reached speeds of up to 400 kilometers per hour.
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