First skydive without a parachute

Professional stuntman Gary Connery (UK) used a wingsuit to jump from a helicopter at 732 m (2,400 ft) above Oxfordshire, UK, on 23 May 2012 to become the first skydiver to land safely – into a pile of 18,600 cardboard boxes – without deploying a parachute. Connery, 42, who starred at the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games when he jumped out of a helicopter dressed as The Queen, had his stunt filmed from every angle: a wing-suited cameraman flew in formation with him during the descent, which lasted for less than one minute. Connery has worked on films such as Die Another Day, Batman Begins and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He has made 880 skydives and 450 BASE jumps to date.

History of the record: Jeb Corliss (USA) set the world on fire with his “Grinding the Crack” video, which saw him skimming at high speed in his wingsuit, remarkably close to the ground. His follow-up video at Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, on 16 January 2012 saw him getting it wrong and clipping a ledge with his legs while flying in his wingsuit at over 161 km/h (100 mi/h). He survived and is recovering from serious injuries but inevitably the sport has moved forward.