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Jeb Corliss

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Jeb Corliss
Born (1976-03-25) March 25, 1976 (age 48)
New Mexico, United States
OccupationAthlete

Jeb Corliss (born March 25, 1976[1]) is an American professional skydiver and BASE jumper. He has jumped from sites including Paris' Eiffel Tower, Seattle's Space Needle, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[2][3][4] He lives in Venice, California.[1]

Professional career

1999

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.[5]

2003

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.[6][7][8] Corliss had to take evasive action to avoid colliding with Weston's body.[9]

2006

In April 2006, 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".[10] This sentence was affirmed in January 2009.[11] Corliss was later permanently banned from the Empire State Building.[12]

2009

In 2009, UK's Channel 4 did a television documentary that went a long way toward explaining Corliss's daredevil attitude in facing his fears and culminates in a most dramatic leap in a wingsuit from a helicopter 600 feet over the Matterhorn with a flight that brings him within feet of the summit which he maintains down the entire 3,000 foot descent off the ridge.

Daredevils: The Human Bird - Channel 4 (UK) television documentary, 2009

2011

On July 1, 2011, near Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, Joby Ogwyn became the first man to fly through a waterfall wearing a wingsuit. Not Corliss, as previously cited.[13][14]

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.[15]

2012

On January 16, 2012, in an accident while proximity flying off Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, Corliss broke both ankles, three toes, and a fibula, tore his left Anterior cruciate ligament, 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 some control, cleared some additional ledges and then deployed his parachute. Due to the lack of stability, his canopy quickly spun him into the ground. He was airlifted out by the Red Cross Air Mercy Service. He recovered and returned to base jumping. A video of the accident has been released.[16][17]

2013

On September 28, 2013, Corliss made a jump called the "flying dagger". He jumped out of a helicopter wearing a wingsuit and then flew through a narrow "crack" in Mount Jianglang in China. The fissure is approximately 60 feet across at the top, 15 feet across at the bottom, and over three football fields tall. After safely completing the jump, Corliss was quoted saying that it was "...the single gnarliest thing I've ever done..." and "I have never experienced anything so hardcore. Period. I have not been that scared in my life. It was so powerful and overwhelming. I started crying..."[18]

2015

Corliss was the technical adviser for the wingsuit flying stunts featured in the 2015 release Point Break, an action thriller film remake, in which he briefly appears.[19][20]

Media career and other ventures

Corliss 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.[21]

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

References

  1. ^ a b "ABOUT". Jeb Corliss. 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Walder, Noeleen G. (March 5, 2008). "Indictment Reinstated Over Corliss' Attempt to Parachute off Empire State Building". New York Law Journal. Retrieved December 29, 2008. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) (registration required)
  3. ^ "PHOTOS". Jeb Corliss. 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  4. ^ Bryant, Eric (April 13, 2013). "Jeb Corliss on the Impossible". Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  5. ^ Corliss, Jeb (December 8, 2006). "A Year in the Life". Retrieved December 8, 2006.
  6. ^ Times Wire Reports (October 6, 2003). "Stunt Attempt Proves Fatal for Skydiver". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Jones, Lola (November 16, 2008). "The Legend's last jump on the last day - whatever happens happens". XtremeSport. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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".
  10. ^ Hartocollis, Amanda (January 18, 2007). "Foiled Daredevil Fares Better in Court". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2007.
  11. ^ Maull, Samuel (January 22, 2009). "Empire State stuntman gets 3 years of probation". Seattle Times Newspaper. Seattletimes.com. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  12. ^ Italiano, Laura; Gregorian, Dareh (June 16, 2010). "Empire of the 'shun' for daredevil". New York Post.
  13. ^ "Wing-suit Waterfall". YouTube. June 28, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  14. ^ "Wing-suit Waterfall". YouTube. June 28, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  15. ^ Finighan, Gareth (September 25, 2011). "Mind the gap! Wingsuit stuntman shoots through narrow slit in mountainside at 75mph". Daily Mail. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  16. ^ "Jumper hurt in leap from Table Mountain". January 16, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  17. ^ Grady, Mary (January 17, 2012). "Wingsuit Flyer Injured In Crash". AVweb. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  18. ^ Williams, Ian (September 30, 2013). "US daredevil Jeb Corliss: 'I started crying' after surviving 'flying dagger' stunt". NBC News. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  19. ^ http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/races-sports/point-break-reborn-how-the-greatest-movie-stunt-of-all-time-was-made-20151224
  20. ^ http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/12/how-the-creators-of-point-break-filmed-a-death-defying-wingsuit-stunt
  21. ^ Today News 1/17/2008, retrieved 7 May 2016, mentions Corliss being fired for Empire attempt: "When he was arrested after his failed attempt, he was fired as host of the Discovery..." http://www.today.com/id/22705333/ns/today-today_news/t/daredevil-sues-nyc-landmark-thwarting-jump/
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