A world champion wingsuit skydiver has died after his parachute failed to deploy during a jump in southern France.
Pierre Wolnik, 37, a two-time world free flight champion, died on Saturday after jumping from a helicopter wearing a wingsuit in the Mont Blanc massif region.
After a brief free fall, Wolnik’s parachute failed to open, resulting in his death. The French media Le Figaro reported.
The French sports newspaper Sport Tricolore reported Wolnik’s death in Xdescribing him as “a world-renowned figure flying in a wingsuit.”
wingsuit flight It is an extreme sport in which the diver wears a specialized suit with straps between the legs and under the arms, allowing them to glide at high speeds and reduce their rate of descent.
His body was found in the village of Les Bossons, in the Chamonix valley. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Get daily national news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day.
The precise cause of the technical failure that caused the parachute to fall is under investigation, Le Figaro reported.
The athlete was a member of the French FAI World Championship team and was a world leader in wingsuit skydiving.
Wolnik was active on social media and was a professional videographer who often shared footage of his daredevil dives with his Instagram followers.
After Wolnik’s death, the French Parachuting Federation he wrote in a translated Facebook statement that he would be “remembered as a teammate whose presence will forever be etched in the memories of those around him.”
“Today, the entire parachute community mourns and pays tribute to a young man known for his talent and human qualities,” he continued.
“On behalf of the entire federation, we send our deepest condolences to his family, his loved ones, as well as his teammates, his coach and all the French teams that had the opportunity to be with him,” the statement concludes.
World champion skydiver Pierre Wolnik died in an accident in the French Alps on February 7, after his parachute failed to deploy.
French Parachuting Federation/ Facebook
In another post, federation president Yves-Marie Guillaud honored Wolnik for his contribution to the sport.
“The entire sports skydiving community mourns the death of a talented young man with such a friendly smile,” he wrote on Facebook, according to Le Parisien. “May the memory of this exceptional parachutist fill our hearts.”
In October, Wolnik shared a video of himself and a fellow diver floating above a vast mountain range.
“It seems that many of us take this great mystery of life for granted to the point that we don’t even question the nature of the experience until the end,” the legend says.
According to Red Bull, Wingsuit divers fly at speeds of up to 250 km/h.. Pilots should have extensive skydiving experience before attempting diving. They will often have completed between 200 and 500 jumps before using a wingsuit.
The first recorded wingsuit jump ended similarly to Wolnik’s. It took place in Paris in 1912 when Franz Reicheltan Austrian tailor, jumped from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. His self-designed suit failed and Reichelt fell 187 feet to his death.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
