Mark Sutton, most memorably known for parachuting into the London 2012 Olympics dressed as James Bond, was killed during a wing-suit accident in Switzerland. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Mark Sutton Crashed into a Ridge Near Martigny
Mark Sutton (Gary Connery Archive)
Mark Sutton, 42, was killed on Wednesday after crashing into a ridge near Martigny at the Swiss-French border while jumping from a helicopter at 10,000 feet wearing a wing-suit, reports The Telegraph.
2. Police Confirmed the Death
Swiss police confirm Briton's death in wingsuit jump http://t.co/wIzmol5MQM
— ITV News (@itvnews) August 15, 2013
Swiss police confirmed that a 42-year-old British man had died after jumping with a friend from a helicopter while wearing a wingsuit close to the French border. In a statement they said the pair jumped from a height of 10,826 feet at around 11 a.m. and planned to land close to the hamlet of Le Peuty. A preliminary investigation suggests that Sutton hit a ridge. He has yet to be formally identified.
“The victim, a Briton, was 42 years old,” the statement said. “He was staying in Chamonix with 20 followers, considered among the best in the world in this discipline.”
3. He Parachuted Into the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony With ‘the Queen’
Sutton played the role of Daniel Craig’s Bond in the most memorable sequence of the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, accompanying another stuntman dressed as the Queen. In her first acting role, the Queen was seen leaving Buckingham Palace with Bond and climbed aboard a helicopter. They then flew to the Olympic Park, where Bond and the Queen parachuted out, arriving outside the stadium just in time for her big entrance.
4. Sutton Was One of 20 Other Wing-Suit Flyers
(Facebook)
Sutton was one of 20 other wing-suit flyers taking part in an event filming an extreme sports video. It is not at the moment clear if he was taking part in the video at the time of his death.
5. Wing-Suit Flying Was First Developed in the 1990s
(Getty Images)
Wing-suit flying was first developed in the 1990s and uses a special jumpsuit with webbing between the limbs, adding surface area to the body and giving it lift to allow a person to glide towards the ground before deploying a parachute.