The Infamous Eiffel Tower Death Jump of 1912 

The long hesitation before the jump is one of the most agonizing things I’ve ever seen, knowing what is about to happen. 😩

Part of the problem also was he jumped vertically. You can see him hesitate then jump off but it looks like he meant to jump horizontally hence so the wind would catch under his suit

The impact he made on the ground is crazy to me

A beautiful tribute to a very brave man. Thank you

File that under: "Seemed like a good idea at the time "...

The original: "I don't always test my code, but when I do, I do it in production"

I think the music made him want to kill himself.

It's haunting to see how hard he was breathing before the fatal plunge. Can't belive he went for it

That thing didn't even look like it would almost work.

First base jump ever and it was recorded better than most failed jumps today. Camera man stayed right on target.

He probably realized before the jump that it wasn’t gonna work, but the pressure of all these people watching him forced him to do it. Hella sad tbh

Although this happened long ago, it still happened and took this man's life. I kniw this was an old film, but I silently still wished he would step back and not jump. May he rest in peace.

He simultaneously invented the wing suit, base jumping, and the Darwin Award.

I've read Franz's story and he was definitely a man of ambition, and in some ways strong headed in his refusal to accept that his invention would likely not work. It's disturbing and inspiring to see Franz hesitate as thoughts race trough his head and then summon up enough courage take the leap. Success might have brought local fame and maybe even monetary income, failure was almost certain death! It's in these moments that human nature is either viewed as intensely brave or incredibly foolish or perhaps both. Either way, at least Franz lived his story and his story lives.

I don't think I've actually seen someone die on youtube before...

Sad to see a man with such a mustache go like that

The suit couldn't handle the weights of his balls

Jokes aside, one moment of respect for this innovative and brave guy who dared to test his own invention.

When you skip the tutorial in a video game

Everything in his being is telling him not to jump and that's why it took him so long to do it. How tragic. He should have listened to his gut.

I am gonna explain the whole story oversimplified. Franz Reichtelt was a tailor and inventor. What I have learned and understand is that this man was in an era where everyone wanted to fly. What Franz had created seemed to resemble an early wing suit that you see when you jump off a plane in a call of duty match. So unlike what people said in the newspapers and other media, he wasn’t necessarily a f##king idiot and was on to something. Early tests with dummies actually kind of worked because they weighed like 100 pounds and glided down. However because of a bet from some guy he had to make a more compact design. The entire design was to make sure that when shitty planes would break down a man could jump out and glide safely with “wings”. However due to the terrible materials and it literally not working he got frustrated. Something snapped and realized that throwing plastic dummies out of a window was a problem when they weren’t working and breaking on impact. Duh he should throw himself instead, so he did it at one point and survived after falling from like 30 feet. Not because his invention worked, but because he landed on straw. He tried again a second time and broke his leg. Then he realized “wait a minute, I’m not falling from high enough place” and decided to jump from the Eiffel Tower. However the French government denies him, for a whole year he tries to convince the government to let him until finally they let out a big sign and say “fine you can off ur self”He gathered friends and other people to film him, people gathered to see the event, police held people back. The police thought he was just gonna throw dummies but instead was gonna throw himself. While after his death the police claimed they would have stopped him if he was gonna say that he was gonna jump off and not a dummy. He actually states to everyone that he will in fact, jump off. When he is going up the tower a security guard stops him because this is obviously stupid, but eventually lets him go. When he is at the top he does a wind test and yeets paper to see if the wind is blowing which it in fact is. Then he finally after a minute of having his life flash in front of his life, jumps 187 feet off the tower. Many things happen that aren’t immediately shown on film. First off, the wind, bad wind helped kill him. Second, the suit itself, the suit did not deploy properly and instead folded him like a blanket of death. Third, a subject not brought up often is the temperature. It was in February and therefore still winter, this made the soil harder than concrete. If it was in a different season he could have maybe just maybe survived. This can be proven because in the year 1964, a woman fell off the tower at a similar height and landed on a car. She survived. When Franz landed he fell so hard it created a crater in the ground. Even with all of this being all said and done it’s possible he suffered a heart attack while falling, however it happened so quick that the heart attack didn’t have time to kill him. The saddest part is that it was all in vain, a dude LITERALLY a year earlier invented the parachute that worked. I know the writing is a little bit messy but the point is that this story was f##ked up and really depressing and disturbing. This man tried creating something that was already a failure and went to extremes. However even though he was treated as a madman he wasn’t entirely wrong. The wing suit is a concept that literally exists and works, it’s just he didn’t have the materials and knowledge on how to properly create it. He stuck to his dream to the very end. I hope this awful massive paragraph helps you understand the event more and on its backstory, Rip Franz, ur an Angel now. 😔😢 Fun Fact or sad fact The Death of Franz Reichelt was the first recorded EXISTING recorded death. What that means is that it’s the first recorded death of film that still exists. The actual first recorded death was some guy being hung in a public execution in 1897. However because 10 minutes of footage is a lot and film preservation technology wasn’t exactly the best at the time the film is lost to history. Photos from the film exist to prove it actually happened, but the film itself is lost to time. I forgot the name of the guy who was being executed, he like killed children or something, so just Google that instead.

These comments are really funny but this is also kinda sad. Imagine how scared he must have been when he realized it wasn't going to work.

You can see him hesitating.

He shakes his head before he jumps, like he knew it wasn’t right. I wonder how scary that was, standing on a stool by the side of a building. Very sad :(

The guys measuring how deep his body sank into the soil were from the Guinness book of world records. Ironically, he still holds that record today.

R.I.P. Franz Reichelt 🙏🏽

i’m here cause i had to see what mr ballen was talking about. no lie that he really rocked him self back and forth before jumping. oof

Though sadly all the people in this recording are long gone, you still have sadness knowing the pain his death brough upon his loved ones and friends. Seeing his last moments, you just wish he hadn't done it

According to Wikipedia (yes I know) he had a heart attack on the way down. He had tried throwing dummies off of a 5 story apartment building before this but the parachute never consistently worked. He made adjustments but never re-tested after changing the suit. Also apparently nobody knew he was going to jump himself until he showed up and told everyone he was going too. They had a contest to build a low altitude parachute at the time and other people were throwing dummies off of the Eiffel Tower trying to win it. Everyone tried to talk him out of it but pride got the best of him. Then they tried to talk him into wearing a safety rope so that he would be more or less bungee jumping off of it. He refused. It was also a very windy day unexpectedly to them at least so they tried to at least convince him to post pone until the next day. He refused to do that because he had already written the newspaper telling them that he had finally figured this out. Basically, he built an inconsistent suit that very unreliably worked. Then he made major alterations to said suit (more than doubled the span of the parachute among others), never bothered to test said new suit, told one of the largest cities in the world that it worked (again he never tested the new suit with even a dummy) went to the tallest structure in the world at the time, jumped off of it in front of a massive crowd with police crowd control in bad weather after everyone had told him not too, then bragged on himself in front of everyone on top of the tower, jumped and died. Progress comes at a cost I guess but pride and arrogance cost this guy his life...

Fun Fact: This dude actually had a lot of advance warning before he took the leap, both from his friends and from experienced pilots at the time. He was so confident in his own work that he kept on going even after he jumped off a building with this thing and broke his own leg. He only hesitated right at the end.

I read this story today; Here to add a little bit of context: - he tried a lighter version of the "parachute" with dummies, and worked. - he tried an heavier, more complex version of it to be used with humans and never worked at first. The structure weighted over 70 kg. - he made it lighter and tried again with dummies. It is reported that only in a single case the dummy did not crash the ground. - he tried himself from a barn. He crashed on a hay cove, breaking maybe a leg. But safe. He saw that he need more air time to manouver the parachute, so he thought he needed to jump from higher. - the day he jumped from the tower was 0°, freezing chill at 730 in the morning. Literally everybody there tried to dissuade him from jumping. The tower guardian was even trying to close the gate. - the police expected he should throw a dummy, not a real person down the tower. - he looks scared, and in fact probably he was. The autopsy stated that he died from heart attach before touching ground. - as someone in the comments pointed out, all the people related to this sad episode died, but his memory is still somehow remembered. My personal thought: feel very sad for him. Watching a man dying on YT is kinda creepy. History will remember you both if you fail miserably or succeed terrifically. Us to decide the price we are willing to pay. I believe the poor Franz, in the end, was aware of his end but agreed to pay the tool for his memory.

You know what that parachute suit needs? A parachute.

Not even a landing pad or any means of cushioning the fall...just straight to the turf...and then come along these guys to measure his indentation 🥴

Regardless of the horrible fate this man endured, his dedication and guts are beyond legendary

Not gonna lie, the song in the background is kinda terrifying considering the video it’s played over. It’d probably be scary to me even if it wasn’t played over this.

One of the many who died so we can enjoy flying and taking it for granted. Rest in peace, Franz.

Crazy part is he was booked to ride the Titanic to NYC later in the year so he was screwed anyway.

The comments are kinda funny but I actually feel bad for this guy, he looked super scared. Rip Franz

I am grateful for his sacrifice for the future of parachute safety, but i feel bad for the fear he must have felt

As a fellow Austrian I can confirm: we are good tailors, good inventors, and are very stubborn!

Darwin award goes to...........

Now we have gliding suits! These are the men who risk everything to advance the threshold of civilization, technology, and the overall catalog of scientific knowledge! I wish Franz were alive today to see how far his idea has evolved. Rest in peace, Franz!

You gotta admire his courage and dedication.

110 years later people are using similar suits to jump of the mountain cliffs many times higher than Eiffel tower and they make it safely to the ground... If he only be able to see them.

Newton was right.

I gotta admire a man who stuck with his dream to the end - even if it was wild. Its so sad that it had to end that way ;(

0:21 he looked so happy to demonstrate his lil invention bro😭💔

Remember kids, if you're going to do something that may result in your death, don't film it on camera, because 110 years later someone may end up posting this comment.

dude really thought this was the "i fall" tower

I did that with a blanket as a cape when I was a kid. But of course, the shed roof was only like 7 feet high.

even watching now nearly 110 years later, i'm thinking..noooo don't do it.

This man was the definition of balls. He had the courage and an intense belief in himself and his work to do something very dangerous all in the name of innovation and creation. He should be applauded.

One of the original Darwin Award recipients.

Not in a million years would I do this, even if I new the parachute was 100% guaranteed not to fail. That parachute looks like a bleeding quilt. He hesitates and then jumps rather badly. It's hard to watch.

Been recently to Paris 1 week vacation. Went to the Eiffel tower to the top. Great experience. I've seen this video before and was amazed how high was the 1st level of the tower. It's bone chilling.

Para chegarmos até os dias atuais com tanta tecnologia quantos erros aconteceram inclusive fatais como esse,toda a minha admiração a pessoas que apesar de cometerem erros trouxeram contribuição para a humanidade futura .

he didn't jump properly, he kind of just dead dropped, no pun intended... evident by the fact that he landed feet first when his invention was supposed to be something like a sugar glider's wings...

He forgot that his elytra was broken

You can see how he knew this would be his last. The hesitation :(

He certainly made a big impact on the world…

wow, that was surprisingly tense. I didn't expect the actual footage!

Jules lässt grüßen

quem veio por causa do the noite também??

If I'd had a TIME MACHINE I would have gone there and stopped him

And still a dummy was the last person to try

I mean I noticed there was a puff of smoke like what happens when the Wiley Coyote falls off a cliff. That really says something👌🏻

Something that i couldn’t help but notice was his breathing. It was 0°c that morning, and you can see vapour coming from his breathe pretty much the entire time. Right up until about 5-10 seconds before his jump. The vapour stops. He literally held his breathe, and took a leap of faith. My heart goes out to this man, may he forever be at peace.

Out among the stars I sail Way beyond the moon In my silver ship I sail A dream that ended too soon Now I know Exactly who I am And what I'm here for And I will go sailing no more All the things I thought I'd be All the brave things I'd done Vanished like a snowflake With the rising of the sun Nevermore to sail my ship Where no man has gone before And I will go sailing no more But, no - It can't be true! I could fly if I wanted to! Like a bird in the sky If I believed I could fly Well, I'd fly! Clearly, I Will go sailing no more

Eye witness accounts of the time state that there were buzzards perched in the Eiffel tower girders cheering him on, and he felt compelled to make the jump, despite second thoughts.....

Quem veio?!?! Entrevista com Gabriel Lott Campeão Mundial de Wingsuit | The Noite (16/03/21) tmj

Legend has it that his cousin, Pierre Bungèe, invented a retracting rope shortly after he witnessed this event.

Note to self: Never jump off a tall structure with an oversized raincoat.

His fields of study weren't physics or aerodinamics, everyone told him to not do it but he still did it, a foolish man, but a very good one.

saberspark brought me here

Rest in peace Franz - so much honor and bravery, he had such impressive belief in his work 🕊️

Fun fact: To this day no one has infringed on his patent

Here’s an Austrian that also took a leap of faith, broke records, nearly died…. But succeeded! Felix Baumgartner’s jump from the stratosphere on a balloon that was sponsored by Red Bull like 15 years ago. He basically jumped from the edge of outer space, lost control halfway but recovered and landed like a champ in New Mexico.

MURIO POR EL SUEÑO DE VOLAR, POR EL INVENTO, UN GRAN HOMBRE QUE NOS DEJO UN LEGADO, MIS RESPETOS

The long pause before he jumps,.... like he was having second thoughts. The way he actually did jump in the end, that was awful!!!

Me testing if there’s fall damage in a game:

Unbelievable stupidity. The bit at the end when the onlookers are measuring the dent he left in the ground. Shocking.

This was interesting, never saw the footage before. Also, hello everybody else here because of Huggbees.

He should have changed his mind @1:35.

They made his coffin a but long.. I thought it would have been shorter after the jump... But I guess it was made before the jump

0:58 that guy on the right '' i dont think you should try that''

He literally flattened like you see in movies that is bone chilling

Wtf they are measuaring the crater of him

He knew he was going to die, but his statement before climbing up prevented him from backing down. Ego killed that man.

It almost made me cry cuz the man was just standing in the camera innocently, ready to show his work. Little did he know he was causing his fate.

I hope he’s up there loving watching people in wing suits jumping off things. Legend.

Hero! 💀 Broken back and they haul him out like a sack of potatoes. 🙈

That wasn't smart. Just "believing" that something will work, without any evidence, is never smart.

He knew it would fail before he jumped but that inner drive to keep going despite the dangers took him over the edge

Vim após a entrevista do Gabriel Lott no The Noite 😅

Thanks for your contribution to science Franz, now we all know wearing a duvet isn't gonna save anyone from a 60mt fall

I'm gonna have them play this clip at my funeral in lieu of a eulogy.

His last words were "See You Soon!", My heart is broken 💔

Very Unfortunate

You can see his hesitation before jumping a couple times, and you could tell he didn't want to do it, now that he was staring 187 feet down to the concrete below... but I can almost guarantee the thought that was going through his mind each time there was hesitation: 'If I back out of this now, I would be letting down all of the people below who came here to see me perform this act that I promised I'd give them.' So, he jumped. Because of blood-thirsty, savage human beings, who, I'd say probably more than 50% of them only came here hoping to see another human falling to their death. This man didn't deserve this. Now. Let's take a second to let this settle in our minds: This is a 100%, legit, real video... This video is 112 years old! O.O

My Dad was born in 1909 and passed in 1996. In his later years I mentioned to him that no people in history had ever seen the changes in their lifetimes as his age cohert.