Jeb Corliss

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Jeb Corliss
Born (1976-03-25) March 25, 1976 (age 37)
United States
Occupation Athlete

Jeb Corliss (born March 25, 1976 near Santa Fe, New Mexico[1]) is a professional skydiver and BASE jumper. He has jumped from sites including Paris' Eiffel Tower, Seattle's Space Needle, and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[2]

Contents

Professional Career [edit]

1999 [edit]

In 1999, Corliss had a near-fatal BASE jump into the Howick Falls, in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. His parachute opening was asymmetric and he could not avoid flying into the downpouring water.[citation needed]

2003 [edit]

In October 2003, Corliss was teamed to jump with his best friend, Australian BASE jumper Dwain Weston, at the inaugural Go Fast Games. Corliss was to fly under the Royal Gorge Bridge, while Weston was meant to pass over it. Instead, Weston impacted the bridge at an estimated speed of 120 mph (190 km/h) and was killed instantly.[3][4][5] Corliss had to take evasive action to avoid colliding with Weston's body.[6]

2011 [edit]

On 1 July 2011 near Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, Corliss became the first man to fly through a waterfall wearing a wingsuit.[7][8]

On September 25 2011, Corliss jumped out of a helicopter at 6,000 feet and glided through a 100-ft wide archway in Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China, landing with a parachute on a nearby bridge.[9]

2012 [edit]

On 16 January 2012, in an accident while proximity flying off Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, Jeb broke both ankles, three toes, and a fibula, tore his left ACL, and sustained a gash in his skin that required skin grafts to close. He struck his legs approximately halfway between the hip and knee on a rock ledge he was attempting to skim over while aiming at a target balloon. The impact caused him to tumble forward one revolution before he regained control in order to clear some additional ledges. He then deployed his parachute. He was airlifted out by the Red Cross Air Mercy Service Agusta 119. He has recovered, is up and walking, and plans to return to life as usual. A video of the accident has been released.[10][11]

Media career and other ventures [edit]

He was also the original host of the Discovery Channel series Stunt Junkies, appearing in 12 episodes, but was fired by Discovery after he was arrested for attempting to BASE jump from New York's Empire State Building.[citation needed]

Jeb Corliss is co-founder of 3 Triple 7, a clothing label.[citation needed]

Arrest [edit]

In April 2006, Jeb Corliss attempted to BASE jump off the observation deck of the Empire State Building, while wearing a camera, but was restrained by building security and arrested by the NYPD. As a result, Corliss received three years probation and 100 hours community service,[2] which was at one point overturned by a Manhattan state judge on the basis that Corliss "was experienced and careful enough to jump off a building without endangering his own life or anyone else’s".[12] This sentence was affirmed in January 2009.[13] Corliss was later permanently banned from the Empire State Building.[14]

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://jebcorliss.net/about/
  2. ^ a b Walder, Noeleen G. (2008-03-05). "Indictment Reinstated Over Corliss' Attempt to Parachute off Empire State Building". New York Law Journal. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
  3. ^ Times Wire Reports (October 6, 2003). "Stunt Attempt Proves Fatal for Skydiver". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2012. 
  4. ^ Jones, Lola (November 16, 2008). "The Legend's last jump on the last day - whatever happens happens". XtremeSport. Retrieved October 6, 2012. 
  5. ^ Martin, Bruce; Wagstaff, Mark, eds. (2012). "Controversial Issue 11: Should extreme sports, such as BASE jumping and other high-risk sports, be included in adventure programming?". Controversial Issues in Adventure Programming. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-4504-1091-5. 
  6. ^ Abrams, Michael (2006). Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them. New York: Harmony Books. pp. 271–272. ISBN 978-1-4000-5491-6.  This book misspells Weston's first name as "Dwaine".
  7. ^ "Daredevil flies through a waterfall wearing a wingsuit". Telegraph Media Group. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
  8. ^ "Wingsuit Through Waterfall". YouTube. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2012. 
  9. ^ Finighan, Gareth (September 25, 2011). "Mind the gap! Wingsuit stuntman shoots through narrow slit in mountainside at 75mph". Daily Mail. Retrieved September 25, 2011. 
  10. ^ http://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/jumper-hurt-in-leap-from-table-mountain-1.1213555.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ Grady, Mary (17 January 2012). "Wingsuit Flyer Injured In Crash". AVweb. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  12. ^ Hartocollis, Amanda (January 18, 2007). "Foiled Daredevil Fares Better in Court". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-18. 
  13. ^ "Empire State Stuntman Gets 3 Years Of Probation". CBS News. 2009-01-22. 
  14. ^ Italiano, Laura; Gregorian, Dareh (2010-06-16). "Empire of the 'shun' for daredevil". New York Post. 

External links [edit]

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