Luke Wingwalker falls to his death at air show.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by RedJester

Not everyone wants to live a safe and boring life. Maybe he wanted to do something more dangerous and exciting with his.

I really doubt there is anyone on the planet who knew more about or was more prepared for those dangers than this guy. Unfortunately being prepared doesn't make you immune from mistakes.

Death is inevitable for all of us. One way or another. He could have just as easily died in a car crash on his way to the air show.

I, for one, commend his bravery and appreciate his effort to keep his fellow man entertained.

No, he couldn't have. I don't have statistics on this, but I will bet my life savings that it is far easier to die walking around on the wings of a plane then it is driving a car. I'll go all in on that hunch.

[Stay Golden]

That must have been aweful for his family to have seen this first hand.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by valo403

No, he couldn't have. I don't have statistics on this, but I will bet my life savings that it is far easier to die walking around on the wings of a plane then it is driving a car. I'll go all in on that hunch.

I think the confusion is that more people die driving a car than falling off a plane wing. Now, I'm positive that change greatly if we asked this question only about those who walk on wings...which is what you're talking about

[steve954]

Originally Posted by BloodFetish

What a waste, but the guy made his choices. The helicopter's rotors are barely turning in the video - is this because the video is shot at 30 fps and just happens to sync up with the rotors?

yep, most definitely.
I've always loved this video with that effect.

[VladtheImpaler]

/\

The Mi-24 Hind - nice. Was one of my favourite "toys" when I used to collect military hardware books as a youngster...

[valo403]

Originally Posted by kirant

I think the confusion is that more people die driving a car than falling off a plane wing. Now, I'm positive that change greatly if we asked this question only about those who walk on wings...which is what you're talking about

No, I'm talking about the odds of dying doing two things. One, driving a car. Two, walking around on the wings of a plane. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the odds are higher in the latter scenario.

[speede5]

Wingwalking is quite dangerous, otherwise everyone would do it and no one would pay to see. These guys are different, just like circus performers, stunt men, mx freestylers. There are tons of people out there risking their lives for entertainment. The money is lucrative, and if you consider they do 30-40 shows a year the failure rate is actually pretty low. It has been a bad year for wingwalking, as Amanda Younkin was fatally injured when her husbands plane caught fire, and they both worked with this guy. Kyle is having a bad year but is back in the air with a new act, no wingwalker, They all know the risks and get right back on the horse.

[RedJester]

Originally Posted by valo403

No, he couldn't have. I don't have statistics on this, but I will bet my life savings that it is far easier to die walking around on the wings of a plane then it is driving a car. I'll go all in on that hunch.

You're missing the point, I'm not comparing statistics about the likelihood of his death.

I'm saying that he could have died doing any number of other things, so ridiculing him about it after the fact is pretty silly. Hell, he could have lived a nice and safe life and ended up being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Death is inevitable, and obviously wing walking is going to make those odds of dying tomorrow a lot more likely, but I am sure he knew that. That's something he would have come to terms with before he even step foot on a wing for the first time. He did it because he liked doing it, not because he was unaware of the risk.