This report is from a witness. I was there at Salto Angel, and I can say nobody saw the entire jump. Considering the trauma Jean-Marc experienced (he died from wounds in his legs and the loss of a lot of blood) I can tell you he hit the wall, for sure.

Jean-Marc is jumping a very small canopy, a skydiving reserve canopy with a attachment point, called the Vega 180. The canopy is packed in a deployment bag. Speculation is he had severe line twists after opening, hit the wall, and then experienced a hard out of control landing in the trees.

Previous to Jean-Marc's leap another jumper, named Catherine, had jumped and also hit the wall. The helicopter (there to ferry jumpers up to the top) mistook Jean-Marc's waves for help as a sign he was all right and went off to rescue Catherine. When it returned Jean-Marc is dead. Jean-Marc was a modern day adventurer who excelled at many disciplines.

In 1988, he is the first to Parapente (Paraglide) from the summit of Mt. Everest.