'Dubai Jetman' Who Flew Like Iron Man... Fell to Death After Parachute Failed to Deploy

Crash During Flight Training Hundreds of Meters Above Ground
Reason Parachute Did Not Deploy Remains Unknown

Bangs Lepe flying in the sky wearing a specially made wing suit.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] It was recently revealed that French stuntman Vince Reffet (36), who flew through the sky wearing specially made equipment (wingsuit) like a superhero in a movie, died because his parachute did not open.

Reffet, better known by the nickname "Jetman," died last November after crashing during flight training over the Dubai desert.

According to the US ABC broadcast on the 18th (local time), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Civil Aviation Authority stated in an accident investigation report on the 15th that Reffet's parachute did not deploy at the time of the crash during flight.

The wingsuit is equipped with an emergency parachute in case of an unexpected accident, but Reffet was unable to deploy the parachute.

The UAE Civil Aviation Authority added that the reason why the parachute did not open properly has not yet been determined.

Footage recorded on the helmet Reffet was wearing at the time of the accident shows that Reffet lost balance and hovered in place at an altitude of 240 meters.

Reffet had experienced a similar situation in the past and had decided that if he began hovering before starting training, he would abandon the flight and deploy the parachute, but things did not go as planned.

The parachute deployed after Reffet had already fallen.

Investigations found no mechanical defects in the wingsuit.

Bangs Lepe (left) and colleagues during his lifetime.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Reffet became famous last February when he successfully completed a high-altitude flight wearing a carbon wingsuit equipped with four mini jet engines for the first time.

Wearing this wingsuit allows flight up to 6,100 meters altitude. The maximum speed is 400 km/h, and the flight duration is about 13 minutes.

Reffet was also famous for the extreme sport "BASE jumping," where participants glide wearing a parachute from high-rise buildings, cliffs, and other locations.

In 2014, he jumped from the world's tallest building, the Dubai Burj Khalifa (828 meters), and in 2015, he attracted attention by flying alongside a passenger plane over Dubai.