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New Zealander Alan McCandlish. - Source: Facebook -
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Friends of a New Zealand base jumper who fell to his death in
Switzerland say he was a "legend and inspiration".
Alan McCandlish, 31, was three weeks into a two-month trip through
Europe with friends when he jumped on Saturday and a wind drift
pushed him into a cliff edge, causing him to fall to his death.
Onlookers said McCandlish, who was wearing a wingsuit, hit a rock ledge before plummeting to the ground.
Witnesses alerted rescue services, but he was dead when they found him, Swiss police say.
The fatal fall happened on the 2500-metre-high peak Unteren Tatelishorn about 200km southwest of Zurich. Nearby is Lauterbrunnen, one of the deadliest peaks in the world for base-jumpers with at least 28 deaths recorded.
McCandlish's parents, Sue and Richard, said last night they were proud of their eldest son.
"He had a cool, wonderful sense of humour," Sue McCandlish said.
"He made us laugh heaps. He was a great family person. Absolutely loved his [two] brothers. And he loved us too."
McCandlish had been travelling in Europe with friends Teroy Attwood and Benjamin MacPherson for three weeks when the incident happened. They will bring his body home.
MacPherson paid tribute to his friend on Facebook.
"The brother has left us with beautiful memories. What a legend he
is. R.I.P. my brother. He is free."
MacPherson said he is "gonna bring the brother home".
Andrew Rhys Godfrey commented on MacPherson's post that McCandlish's "smile and wicked humour will stay with us always".
And Mike Gavan posted: "So sad mate, he was unique and will be sorely missed."
Skydive Abel Tasman sales and marketing manager Lisa Chambers said McCandlish was into proximity base jumping - a "cutting-edge" variation where people use wingsuits and fly very close to cliffs.
"It's a real tragedy. He was incredibly well loved by all of those who met him. I guess he was a real legend and inspiration in the sport."
McCandlish had worked at Taupo Tandem as a member of the tandem skydive team for about three years before his death.
The company's chief executive, Hamish Funnell, said he was a "capable and experienced" skydiver who had previously travelled to Europe for base jumping.
A Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman said the ministry would offer consular assistance to his family.
Base-Jumping Basics
It progressed from skydiving but, instead of jumping out of an aeroplane, jumpers leap from fixed objects.
Base is an acronym that stands for the four types of objects they jump from: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (mountains).
Base-jumpers carry pre-packed parachutes to land safely and can wear special suits that let them travel horizontally as they fall.
A 2008 study found the annual fatality rate in 2002 was one in 60 participants worldwide.