Dubai: Daredevil wingsuit flyer Graham Dickinson has released a YouTube video of his latest stunt – with none other than his late friend and fellow risk taker Dario Zanon, who was killed in a horrific accident in June.
The 1.24 minute video pays homage to Zanon, who died last month after his wingsuit malfunctioned, leading him to fatally crashing onto Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps.
According to the leading Italian wire service ANSA, the victim, 33, was one of Italy's top wingsuit divers.
On his Facebook page, Dickinson said: “This video will help explain the love and joy we have for flying and finding new places to fly.”
However, while this adrenaline-charged sport continues to stay popular among extreme sports enthusiasts, the fatality rate is quite high. A 2012 study carried out by Dr Omer Mei-Den, a wingsuit enthusiast and assistant professor of orthopedics at the University of Colorado, discovered that 72 percent of fliers had witnessed death or serious injury.
And a further 76 percent said they had experienced what they categorized as a “near miss.”
Known fatalities are running at about two dozen a year, a number that has been steadily increasing as more are attracted to the sport, according to US research.
On social media, Dickinson also said: "Dario and I found this jump after hiking around for six days. It was definitely one of our favorite jumps on this adventure.
“In total we found 19 new exit points, bringing our grand total of new jumps found to over 110!!! Pretty impressive for only having the resources we did.
“The video will explain just how excited and happy we were to find this massive jump and fly such a long fun line. Location of the jump is 4 hours from Dubai.”
