Alex Duncan

On the afternoon of Sept 2nd, a group of international wing suit pilots and friends hiked to the exit of Crois de Fer on the France/Swiss border. The exit overlooks the town of Triente and the town of Martigny in the distance. The exit provides a couple of obvious choices to jump from and each involves a technical start that requires clearing a ledge and getting to full flight efficiently in order to have a safe jump.

Several of the pilots had decided not to jump or were undecided as the remainder of us suited up. Rob Herron, Hartman Rector, Scotty Bob and I were geared up and standing just behind Nathan Jones and Alex Duncan, who were standing on independent exits and psyched to do another two way. Both Nate and Alex were very current, skilled, and had been flying together a lot over the previous two months.

After the count, they both exited with strong pushes, Alex, a very, very strong push. It was apparent there was a problem as Alex's trajectory didn't match his push and he was almost immediately in a "head low, left bank" body position. As Nate started flying, Alex dove head low and left toward the ledge. He dropped his leg wing aggressively to avoid the ledge but this, in a split second, flattened his body position out, stalling the suit and caused a clockwise flat spin. He impacted the ledge and then the talus below. He died instantly.

Alex Duncan was one of the best wing suit pilots in the world and was known for his humor, bold lines, fast starts and deep friendship. He lived with no regrets and inspired many. He will be missed.