[Overlord86]

The story is he was trying to prove the Earth is flat. Now he is flat. Looks like his chute gets ripped off him or wasn't secured and fell off. I guess he didn't have a reserve chute or if he did, blacked out on the way up.


Here is the same guy from Tosh.0. Credit for the find goes to gfxoracle.

[goober]

I thought I saw something dangling from the parachute around 6 seconds into the video. It looks like the parachute didn't work either, so he would've died anyway assuming this is the video.

I'll never understand flat earthers

[megaman]

I never use the term Darwin Award .... but this is the exception I have been fucking waiting for

[kellyhound]

Houston, we have a problem.

[Sugar³]

This is so so good.
What was he gonna do once the air got thin? Or once his dink froze right through, and his fingers got so cold that he couldn't even pull the ripcord to bale out with his shitty parachute--that he probably stitched together himself out of "No Fear" bumper stickers and a Red Bull tarp that he won doing some other shit like this?

[julie_8008]

Why did I imagine Wiley Coyote when I saw this?

[Stevieaitch]

What could go wrong?

[dancroman]

8 / 10. Mad props to the camera man.

[nerd]

Let me just point out that you'd need to be about 35,000 feet high to see the curvature of the earth, and human beings cannot breathe above 26,000 feet, even if they take time to acclimatize.

Blasting off while riding a rocket with no protection against the cold and breathing apparatus will result in your death no matter what if you happen to get to 35,000 feet.

The fact that this fucking idiot died the way he did is just further proof these flat-earthers should be ignored. We cannot save these lemmings. Let them jump off the cliff (which is a myth, in case you're wondering), because that's their destiny. ;)

[danielsan]

Yep, he sure ended up splattered flat on the earth.


'Mad' Mike Hughes dies after crash-landing homemade rocket

A US daredevil pilot has been killed during an attempted launch of a homemade rocket in the Californian desert.

"Mad" Mike Hughes, 64, crash-landed his steam-powered rocket shortly after take-off near Barstow on Saturday.

A video on social media shows a rocket being fired into the sky before plummeting to the ground nearby.

Hughes was well-known for his belief that the Earth was flat. He hoped to prove his theory by going to space.

Saturday's launch was reportedly filmed as part of Homemade Astronauts, a new TV series about amateur rocket makers to be aired on the US Science Channel. The project had to be carried out on a tight budget.

With the help of his partner Waldo Stakes, Hughes was trying to reach an altitude of 5,000ft (1,525m) while riding his steam-powered rocket, according to Space.com.

In the video of the launch, a parachute can be seen trailing behind the rocket, apparently deployed too early, seconds after take-off.
In a tweet, the Science Channel said Hughes had died pursuing his dream.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said its officers were called to a rocket launch event at around 14:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday.

The sheriff's office said "a man was pronounced deceased after the rocket crashed in the open desert". Hughes' publicist confirmed to US media outlets that it was the pilot who had been killed.

Darren Shuster, a former representative for Hughes, told TMZ the daredevil was "one-of-a-kind".

"When God made Mike he broke the mould. The man was the real deal and lived to push the edge. He wouldn't have gone out any other way! RIP" he said.

Mad Mike and his assistants built the homemade rocket in his backyard, spending around $18,000 (£14,000).

The rocket uses steam ejected through a nozzle for propulsion.

The daredevil, who lived in Apple Valley, made headlines internationally when he announced his intention to prove his theory that the Earth was flat.

In March last year, Hughes managed an altitude of 1,870ft (570m) before deploying his parachutes and landing with a bump.

Speaking afterwards, Hughes said: "Am I glad I did it? Yeah, I guess. I'll feel it in the morning. I won't be able to get out of bed. At least I can go home and have dinner and see my cats tonight."

He set a Guinness World Record in 2002 for the longest limousine jump - over 31 metres (103 ft) in a Lincoln Town Car stretched limo.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51602655