Swiss Daredevil to Fly Over Grand Canyon With Jet Pack. What Could Go Wrong?

If you like jet-packs, the outdoors, or the possibility of some guy plummeting thousands of feet to his death, you may want to head to the Grand Canyon Friday, where a Swiss daredevil plans to fly over the canyon with a jet-pack.Yves Rossy, a former fighter pilot, plans to jump...

By James King

May 4, 2011

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If you like jet-packs, the outdoors, or the possibility of some guy plummeting thousands of feet to his death, you may want to head to the Grand Canyon Friday, where a Swiss daredevil plans to fly over the canyon with a jet-pack.

Yves Rossy, a former fighter pilot, plans to jump from a helicopter near Eagle Point and, using his homemade jet-propelled wingsuit, fly west along the rim of the Grand Canyon on Friday morning.

Rossy's successfully completed similar stunts by flying over the English Channel and the Swiss Alps. However, not all of his stunts have been successful.

In November 2009, in an attempt to become the first person to fly between two continents with a jet-pack, Rossy tried to fly over the Strait of Gibraltar. He failed.

The trip was expected to take about 15 minutes, but shortly after jumping from a small plane about 6,500 feet above Tangier, Morocco, high winds forced Rossy to ditch the jet pack and fall into the sea below. He survived, and the jet pack was recovered.

The Grand Canyon is a little less forgiving than the Atlantic Ocean, so let's ~~secretly~~ hope ~~something~~ nothing goes wrong.

See Rossy in action below.

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