A thrill-seeking extreme sports enthusiast tragically met his demise in Turkey while speed flying during a holiday. Vyacheslav Gribanov, aged 37, crashed into rocks on Babadag mountain after launching from an altitude of nearly 6,000 feet. This incident marks the third fatality in recent weeks involving free flying in the region. Speed flying, a high-adrenaline sport, entails rapid descents near the ground using a compact, high-performance wing that is smaller than those used in paragliding.
Reportedly, Gribanov lost control shortly after takeoff on his solo flight, leading to a fatal plunge. Footage captured the moment when the daredevil embarked on his final flight before the tragic accident occurred. Speed flying is recognized for its high-risk nature, with participants reaching speeds of up to 95mph and flying in close proximity to the terrain. The smaller wings utilized in this sport enable greater speeds and steeper descents. Gribanov’s camera was lost in the crash, prompting an investigation to ascertain the causes of the incident.
Another flyer’s footage depicted the location of Gribanov’s fall. An experienced paraglider, Gribanov, who ran a construction company in St. Petersburg, had recently transitioned to speed flying and was undergoing training with an instructor. According to reports, a German tourist and a Polish individual lost their lives in separate flying incidents, describing the cluster of fatalities as “unusual.”
In a separate incident back in July, an extreme sports influencer named Andreas Tonelli perished after a bike crash that led to a 600ft plunge into a ravine. The alarm was raised by Tonelli’s family when he failed to return home from a biking excursion in the Dolomites, prompting a large-scale helicopter search operation. His body was discovered in the Vallunga area of Val Gardena, where authorities believe he fell from the mountain into the ravine following the bike mishap. Tonelli, aged 48, boasted a significant following on Instagram, where he frequently shared videos of his adventurous mountain biking endeavors.
Moments before the fatal incident, Tonelli posted an Instagram story displaying his smile at the summit. In a prior post, he expressed his passion for travel, stating, “But since I spend seven months a year traveling, I also call home all the other places in the world where I feel happy and free.” Tonelli had been organizing biking expeditions since 2003, covering routes across Italy, Europe, and various global locations. He was also recognized for his photography, hiking, and climbing pursuits, including a notable bicycle ascent of the active volcano Nevado Ojos de Salado in Chile.
Among his remarkable achievements was conquering the L’Onda di Hokusai (‘Hokusai Wave’) route in the Dolomites, primarily composed of frozen mountaintop, as well as successfully scaling the Tupungato volcano in central Chile.
