Mark Sutton (13 April 1971 – 14 August 2013) (subscription required). was a British

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

who took part in the

2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proc ...

by parachuting from a helicopter above the stadium as

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

. He died in a

wingsuit flying Wingsuit flying (or wingsuiting) is the sport of skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit called a wingsuit to add webbed area to the diver's body and generate increased lift, which allows extended air time by gliding flight rather than just ...

accident near Les Grandes Otanes in Switzerland. He had been travelling at around when he hit a ridge.

Life

Mark Sutton was the son of Air Marshal Sir John Matthias Dobson Sutton KCB, former Lieutenant-Governor of the Island of Jersey, and Lady Angela Sutton. He was educated at

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

where he won the Sword of Honour. He received an officer's commission in the

6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Compa ...

in December 1991, and served as an Army Officer until 1995. Upon leaving the Army, he changed career and moved into finance in the city of London. When he died, Sutton was working as a consultant for

The Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Scotland has around ...

London 2012 Olympics

During a segment of the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

entitled " Happy and Glorious", Sutton served as a

stunt double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes for another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

on a helicopter in a filmed portion of the segment. Alongside his friend

Gary Connery Gary Connery (born 18 June 1969) is a British skydiver, BASE jumper, and professional stuntman. Connery has performed stunt-work in numerous films. He has also acted as the stunt-double for Gary Oldman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rowan Atkinson, and ...

(who was The Queen's double for the segment), Sutton skydived out of the helicopter above the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

. Following the ceremony, the sequence was described as one of its highlights by the media.

Death

In August 2013, Mark Sutton and 20 other top wingsuiters were invited to a three-day event in

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

, France known as ''Helibase 74'', which was organised by Epic TV, a web TV channel specialising in extreme sports. In exchange for video footage of their flights, the website provided accommodations and helicopter access. On 14 August 2013, Sutton jumped alongside Tony Uragallo (both equipped with multiple video cameras) in a short "warm-up" flight near Les Grandes Otanes scheduled to last about a minute. However, tragedy struck only 20 seconds into the flight; as he jumped from the helicopter at , travelling at speeds of up to , Sutton veered off-course and crashed into a mountain ridge. A rescue helicopter arrived soon after Sutton hit the ground, but he was pronounced dead at the scene—Sutton's impact was so severe that a

DNA test Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

was required to identify his body, and a spokesperson stated that he had no chance of surviving the impact. While Sutton was equipped with a

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

during the flight for landing, it was left unused. As part of the investigation, the video footage from Uragallo's cameras were handed over to a Swiss police unit. An Epic TV spokesperson considered Sutton's death to be an accident, noting that two successful flights with other wingsuiters were held prior, and that they had planned to be "conservative" that day due to the large number of flights planned. The remaining participants in the event elected to continue on in honour of Sutton. His death was regarded as a major loss to the community of wingsuit flying, among whom he was considered to be one of the world's best. Among those to pay tribute to Sutton were

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, incl ...

, and

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

who said that his death was a "huge loss to his profession".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Mark 1971 births 2013 deaths Accidental deaths in Switzerland British stunt performers Royal Gurkha Rifles officers Wingsuit flight deaths