Domi picked me up at home shortly before 7am - we loaded my BASE and paragliding gear and set off. At 7.28 we started our hike from the Hotel Stechelberg - 3 hours and 59 minutes later we were standing on the High Melchstuhl. Something extraordinary happened during this ascent. Just above the alp, a cute white goat with a little bell around its neck decided to follow us. For sure she'll turn back soon, we thought - but we were wrong. Although we never fed her and made several attempts to persuade her to turn back, she accompanied us all the way to the exit of High Melchstuhl where we sat down, relaxed and enjoyed our time together.

We analyzed a video of a line from Dominik Ertl that we were planning to fly (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmeu5m9Un0U). I had done this line twice before, Domi had never done it. From the exit, the reference points and the escape routes to the right are very easy to see. We looked and discussed all of this very thoroughly. The conditions at the exit can be summarized in one word: Perfect. We got ready, Domi called Air-Glaciers and Martina gave us permission to jump. As Domi was flying this line for the first time, we decided to jump individually. I jumped first, he filmed my exit.

My start and my whole flight confirmed our assessment of the meteorological conditions we had made at the exit. After landing, I turned around and started to take my gear off, constantly looking upwards. A few minutes later, at 12:27 to be precise, thinking that I might had missed to see his flight, I sent him a WhatsApp message asking: “Have you jumped?” At 12:32 I called him the first time, but he didn’t pick up. During my second attempt to reach Domi by phone, at 12:37, a chopper from Air-Glaciers flew over my head - the chopper had no load attached, it was lunch time, and it flew into the Rottal - my guts started to twist. At 12:38 I called Air-Glaciers. The only thing Martina was allowed to confirm was that they were doing a rescue in the Rottal. At 12:40 I called my best friend Marcel Geser for advice.

At 12:53 I called Domi’s brother Florian and informed him of the status quo. At this moment I was still walking from my landing spot in direction Hotel Stechelberg, where the car was parked. I found the key that Domi had deposited and drove his car to the Air-Glaciers base arriving around 13:30. I was greeted by two Bernese police officers, Köbu and Teddy. They informed me, that the rescue operation was in its terminal phase and that the victim, a BASE jumper in a wingsuit, did not survive the accident. I got shown a couple of pictures and could identify Domi by his gear. At 13:53 I did the most gut-wrenching phone call of my entire life. I informed Flöru, that his brother and our great friend Dominik had left us. Domi’s camera has not yet been found. I did not see him using a Flysight or a similar device for this jump. That makes a precise analysis of the accident impossible. A search expedition is planned. If the camera is found, an update to this report will follow.

At the moment we only have the following information: We know roughly where Domi impacted (two hikers witnessed the accident), we know where his body came to rest, and we know where the rescue team found some parts of his gear. There is no doubt that he impacted in full flight and tumbled more than a hundred meter down into a narrow gully.

It was an instant death, he did not suffer. We have lost an amazingly gifted sportsman. Be it cross country paragliding, speed riding, BASE jumping, skiing, hang gliding, kiting, foil kiting, wing foiling, surfing, you name it.

Domi was an absolute natural in whatever he did. But what counts even more was his personality, his friendliness, his positive attitude to life, his generosity. I do not know a single person that didn’t like him. He’ll be in the hearts of many forever. For me, when I’ll look up to the sky at night, it will be easy to know which star he is: The one that shines the brightest. My condolences go out to the family of Domi and to all of his friends.

-LOVE Robi Caspani

UPDATED 4TH AUGUST 2024:
On July 31, we found Domi's camera. It was about 50 meters below the place where we think he impacted. The Insta360 was in surprisingly good condition, but unfortunately the SD card was no longer in the camera, it must have fallen out on impactor or Domi forgot to put it in. The card remained missing despite hours of searching. Without analyzing the footage, we will never know exactly what happened. However, we do have the testimony of two hikers who saw Domi hit the ground and disappear behind the rocks, and we found small pieces of the wingsuit at the indicated location. Without GPS data (Domi didn't have his Flysight with him on the day of the accident) and without a video, we can only speculate. The following scenarios seem likely: 1. Domi flew in best glide (and therefore rather slowly) to get to the waterfall-line. After about 30 seconds in flight, he realized that he wouldn't make it to the “Rottal” stream. Domi left the intended line, turned to the right, and found himself in flat terrain. Too low to pull the parachute, he hit the ground just before it became steep again. 2. Domi realized that he could not fly the intended line and decided to dive into another gully. He made a sharp right turn and flew too radically.

- Marcel (SBA)