Basejumper.com - archive

On the french board : http://www.base-jump.com/...hp/topic,4116.0.html

43 Years old American guy (Californian from one of the link), 2 way wingsuit jump in Haute-Savoie area.

R.I.P.

A great man and great friend. BSBD

Rob Kelly. Ginny, his wife, posted on her FB page yesterday.
http://www.europe1.fr/...en-base-jump-770559/

A 43-year-old American disappeared Saturday during a jump, base jumping, an extreme discipline consisting of leaping off a cliff with a parachute, was found dead Sunday on Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, in Haute-Savoie.

The man, originally from California, had jumped Saturday with a friend from the Point of No Bet from 2200 meters, but the landing was not seen, "which left fearing the worst," said the high mountain rescue squad (PGHM) Annecy.

His body was discovered late Sunday morning by rescuers in a very steep area at about 1 km from his starting point. The man, esperienced with this practice, found himself "too close to terrain and did not have time to open his parachute," said the PGHM.

Blue skies, bro. Say hi to Timmy and Johnny and all the rest.

This is Ginny. I am going to make this as short and simple as possible. Basically Rob was proximity flying on sloppy terrain and caught himself without an out. He made a mistake. He impacted with no deployment. Rob had over 900 base jumps in ten years experience. He was conservative as far as proximity flyin goes.

He never liked these boards, so I am asking that this discussion end here. This should be adequate information for anyone interested is learning from his death. Thank you for respecting his, and my, wishes. Those of you that know Rob and myself feel free to send me an email.

Ginny