A world champion paraglider hurtled into a tourist landmark just weeks after winning a gold medal, becoming the latest daredevil to lose his life to a deadly sport where each 500 jumps ends in horror
A world-renowned aerial sports pro with over 20 years of experience in paragliding became the lethal sport’s latest victim in a test flight with a parakite, slamming into Cape Town’s iconic peak.
Jean Jacques Wallis, 35, was killed just weeks after winning a gold medal at the World Wingsuit League in September. The South African extreme sports ace was also an expert in skydiving, BASE jumping, and wingsuit flying.
He was reportedly testing out a Flare Moustache parakite when he smashed into the Lion’s Head mountain. Local authorities are now trying to work out what went wrong, appealing for video footage, photos, or any other materials.
A parakite is a hybrid wing designed for strong winds and high-speed coastal soaring. An innovative pulley system enables faster speeds, dynamic manoeuvring, and more control through hand movements. Parakites are often used for ‘proximity flying’ close to the terrain.
But the trial flight ended in tragedy despite Wallis’s great experience and award-winning skills. He recently competed at the 11th WWL Grand Prix at Tianmen Mountain in China, winning gold in the Target Strike event and coming fourth in the Slalom Speed Race.
Investigators are still probing his flight path, kit, weather conditions, and any other factors that could have contributed to the tragedy.
Rescuers scrambled to reach the accident scene just before 7pm on Tuesday. Over 30 Wilderness Search and Rescue members joined the recovery mission on the mountainside. Technical rope systems helped haul the body back to the trail before it was taken to a waiting vehicle, said a spokesperson.
The Civil Aviation Authority’s Accident and Incident Investigation Division has launched a probe, appealing for footage, photos, or any other materials.
The South African Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association offered its condolences to the Wallis family and the aerial sports community. Spokesperson Louis Stanford said: “The aim is to learn from accidents and prevent future occurrences, not to assign blame.”
Wingsuit BASE jumping ranks among the world’s deadliest sports, with around one death for each 500 jumps, far deadlier than skydiving, in which only 1 in 120,000 jumps proves fatal.
A daredevil CEO died in August in a horror wingsuit crash after colliding with trees in the Swiss Alps. Kirk Hawkins, 58, jumped out of a helicopter with three others near the peak of the Eiger summit. They glided along the east ridge before the American hit some trees and crashed to the ground.
The Swiss Alps also claimed the life of a Scottish wingsuit flyer in June. Liam Byrne, 24, tragically lost his life during the jump at Gitschen, a 8,245ft mountain in the Urner Alps.
Liam spent five years living in his dad’s old Citroen Berlingo as he mastered death-defying jumps. He starred in a BBC Scotland documentary about the extreme sport called The Boy Who Can Fly.
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