Following the death of a wingsuit pilot who was killed in Chamonix, France on Monday after slamming into a chalet, the mayor has banned the sport outside the village for at least six months. No less than five athletes have been killed in the last year participating in the sport there and officials apparently feel there needs to be more regulations on starting points and landing areas for pilots.
Officials are concerned for the safety of the public after the wingsuiter–a native of Russia–crashed into the recently-constructed building. “We can’t consider that flying over inhabited zones is something that’s normal, when they’re putting residents at risk,”mayor Eric Fournier said.
Chamonix is a center for mountain adventure in Europe with Mount Blanc the region’s crown jewel—one that attracts thousands of athletes each year to the heart of the French Alps to ski and snowboard, climb, BASE jump, and of course, use wingsuits— clothing outfitted with wings so pilots can actually navigate in close proximity to the ground. The sport was also banned in Chamonix in 2012 after another nasty sequence of accidents.
Officials in the mountain village are also worried that because the sport is still young, many of “those who do it still haven’t mastered it,” which creates an even greater risk to the public. According to one report, there have been 35 wingsuit-related deaths this year. The Inertia reported on the deaths of pilots Uli Emanuele, Alexander Polli and Armin Schmeider late this summer.
