03.27
Graeme Murray/Red Bull Photofiles
Here’s some really bad news. For those of you that aren’t aware, Shane McConkey passed away yesterday while doing what he’s known for. B.A.S.E. jumping. The accident happened in Italy.
Shane McConkey is one of the two people that made the jump off the Peak2Peak opening day. He’s the one that did the flips and pulled his chute last. It’s an impressive move that most people in Whistler have seen. There’s a video below.
This is totally tragic. Shane was only 39 years old. Shane McConkey is survived by his wife, Sherry, and their 3-1/2-year-old daughter, Ayla. Condolences to his family in this terrible time.
Here’s ESPN’s account from film maker Scott Gaffney who is a longtime friend of Shane.
“He did a double backflip off the jump and he has these releasable bindings so they come off in the air and then he flies off in his wing suit.
“But one ski did not come off. And when that happens the drag on the skis causes you to flip over, so the skis go over your head. So he was struggling with the one ski. Then he also got into a bad spin. So he may have never even pulled his pilot chute. And that’s coming from [fellow skier] JT Holmes, who Shane was with in Italy and who reviewed the footage of the accident. So the combination of the ski, the spin and the pilot chute, apparently. Because you can’t throw the pilot chute like that; if you throw it while you’re upside down and it wraps around the ski, you’re done.”
Once again sincerest condolences to Shane’s family. Watch some videos of Shane.