Supersonic skydiver returns to Austria
By The Associated Press
SALZBURG, Austria — Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner has finally come home after his death-defying, record-breaking leap from the edge of space.
The Austrian former military parachutist faced reporters in his home city of Salzburg on Saturday, nearly two weeks after his plunge from a balloon to the New Mexico desert made him the first person to reach supersonic speed without traveling in a jet or spacecraft.
Baumgartner says it’s been a “very turbulent” few days and weeks and that preparing to jump was a “very, very overwhelming” experience. Before returning home, he met in New York with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Baumgartner says of his jump, the result of years of planning: “Courage and this absolute will to accomplish something paid off.”
