A 42-year-old man best known as the James Bond double in the London Olympic Games died when he crashed into the side of a mountain in the Swiss Alps, following a helicopter jump from 10,800 ft. in the air.
Mark Sutton, from Surrey, died during a wingsuit flying activity when he slammed into an edge of rock. According to the Telegraph, Sutton was participating in an activity put on by Epic TV, a French extreme sport website that had paid for Sutton to attend.
Wingsuit flying is an action sport that involves wearing a suit with artificial wings, so that jumper can dive from high elevation and glide back down to the ground. A parachute deploys right before landing.
Sutton took a helicopter to a height of about 10,800 ft. with another wingsuit flyer, whom police call a "close" friend of his. They planned to jump from the mountain, glide alongside it and arrive in a town just off the French border.
But once he leapt from the plane, Sutton met his demise.
He and friend Tony Uragallo plunged from the aircraft with intentions of a "warm-up" flight, the Telegraph reported. Both Uragallo and Sutton wore cameras on their heads to document the adventure.
The videos, which have since been given to Swiss investigators, depict Sutton jumping from the helicopter, then gliding away. Moments before he crashed into the mountain, the camera dies.
Minutes after, a rescue team arrived on the scene, but Sutton had already died.
"He hit the mountain at a speed of about 250 kilometers per hour," a spokesperson for the Swiss police told the Telegraph. "There was no chance of survival. The altitude of the ridge was about 2,000 to 2,400 meters."
The news of Sutton's passing brought shock and sadness to those who knew him.
Director of the opening ceremony where Sutton gained his fame Danny Boyle stated that the deceased was a "gentle and thoughtful" man whose passing was "a huge loss to his profession."
"On behalf of everyone in the show, we were all honored to have worked with him and to have known him as a friend and a professional," Boyle said. "All our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues."
