Mark Sutton, 42, was staying in Chamonix with his girlfriend, Victoria Homewood, 39. On Wed 14 Aug 2013 he travelled to Switzerland and took a helicopter flight with Tony Uragallo. They were participating in an event organised by Epic Tv, the French extreme sports online channel, which featured the astonishing Alexander Polli Batman Cave Flight.
At an altitude of 3,300m Mark and Tony Uragallo both exited the helicopter at about 11am. This was a rehearsal to check out their equipment and the flight path. Each pilot was wearing three cameras so that they could film each other and their own trajectory. The anticipated duration of the rehearsal flight was about 60 seconds.
Shortly after exiting the helicopter, Mark appeared to lose control as he deviated from the planned route. He impacted on the mountain side at an estimated 150mph (240km/h) beside the Trient Glacier close to the border with France.
Wednesday's accident was the first involving a wingsuit pilot in the Swiss canton of Valais. On 25 Jul 2013 a 24 year old German male died after jumping from the Brevent (2525m).
Mark Sutton became particularly well known for the parachute jump he and Gary Connery made from a helicopter during the opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics. Mark played the role of James Bond, while Gary played the role of the HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
