The US-based professional daredevil has jumped from a hot air balloon 3km above the Californian desert – using nothing but an umbrella to try to break his fall.
The spectacular stunt was part of a MythBusters style experiment, with Roner testing whether or not the umbrella would act as his parachute.
It did. Briefly.
Video of the stunt shows Roner being lifted high into the air, dangling precariously beneath the balloon.
“All right going up … Mary Poppins,” he says, referencing the scene from the famous musical where Mary Poppins flies while clutching a parasol. Roner then lets go of the balloon and begins plunging to the ground. The umbrella appears to slow his fall for about 20 seconds.
Another skydiver, not holding an umbrella, can be seen falling much faster then Roner. But the daredevil’s umbrella eventually collapses and he’s forced to dive away and use his parachute to land safely.
Roner’s jump comes a month after Austrian daredevil “Fearless” Felix Baumgartner parachuted from a hot air balloon on the edge of space.
