We started the hike at 6:30h, reaching the top at 10:30h. Conditions were perfect, the wall is facing east so we had already good thermals.

The exit is at the top of a high and vertical wall, right at the center of a big bowl from an antic glacier circus. The jump can be broken down in two key sections, where the main landings are located. The first part involves an 800m long flat section with different good landing options, this is where you land after a tracksuit jump. The second section requires crossing an uphill talus and a forest area to reach bigger landing zones, closer to where the car is parked.

We discussed with Fiyi the flight patterns and the different landing options he could probably reach. Basically, before or after a trees/forest section with a higher hill in between. The second section would require flying along/near the left wall, this way the flight distance would be shorter but also taking advantage of the lift generated by the thermals.

Fiyi had previously jumped in this location with the tracksuit, landing in the first section. Being this the most conservative option in case of bad exit or lack of performance during flight.

Fiyi jumped at 10:50am, having a clean and symmetrical exit. However, seconds later he started flattening out, losing gradually the forward speed. He also flew through the middle of the valley, not taking advantage of the wall thermals but also increasing the flight distance to reach any landing from the second section. After 12 seconds we lost visual contact with him, assuming he would have reached the second section, or some small landings in the area.

We tried to contact Fiyi, but there was no phone signal in the area, then we waited about 1.5h near the village, which is the time it normally takes to walk down from any intermediate landing. Then, we walked up to find him expecting he had a bad landing and could be stuck in tree. After 1h of searching and not getting any response from him we called the emergency services. It took them about 2-3h to find his body wrapped with his canopy. Fiyi impacted in the forest area, right in between the two main landing zones. The injuries of the impact caused an instant death, as per the emergency services feedback.

Fiyi’s camera hasn’t been found yet, however other ground images revealed that he managed to pull seconds before the impact, right after crossing the hill before the forest.

Route cause of the accident:

Fiyi didn’t have yet the experience to assess the speed range of the suit, nor to realize he was flying too close to the stall point. Also, didn’t take advantage of the thermals close to the wall, which also made him fling the longer distance to reach the distant landing areas. But the most important part is that he lacked complete awareness of the safety altitude, being probably too much focused on reaching the second landing area of the jump.

Fiyi was a great and unique individual, lovely person with high energy and motivation. He will be very much missed. Fly free my friend.

Unknown at this stage we are awaiting reports from the Spanish community.
https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/.../0003172443823247076547...