Vincent Reffet: French ‘Jetman’ dies in training accident in Dubai

An investigation into the death is in progress

Dubai Jetman Killed (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A French stuntman known for flying with jet engines strapped to his back has died while training in Dubai.

Vincent Reffert, 36, from Annecy, was killed while training in the desert, his organisation Jetman Dubai said, adding that it was “working closely with all relevant authorities".

“Vince was a talented athlete, and a much-loved and respected member of our team,” its statement said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all those who knew and worked with him.”

Mr Reffert, who was born to skydiving parents, was best known for his work with Jetman Dubai. The extreme athlete would fly across the sky with  a four-engine, carbon-Kevlar wing strapped to his back, at speeds reaching up to 400 kph (248 mph). In 2015, he and the company’s founder Yves Rossy flew next to an Emirates Airbus A380 double-decker jetliner over Dubai. 

“I believe that if you dream big and if you love what you do everything is possible," the athlete was quoted as saying.

“It’s the sensation of freedom. Already, you know, when I am skydiving, I have like this feeling of freedom I can like pretty much go where I want but always going down,” Mr Reffet told The Associated Press in 2015. “With this machine… I can fly like a bird.”

He had also BASE-jumped off the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which towers 828 metres into the sky, as well as winning gold medals as a free-flying skydiver.

The daring athlete’s feats often went viral online, including one occasion when he jumped from a mountain into a moving plane with colleague Fred Fugen wearing wingsuits.