58-year-old Kirk Hawkins, former CEO of ICON Aircraft, died in the Swiss Alps after he jumped out of a helicopter in a wingsuit. A former US Air Force F-16 pilot, Hawkins leapt from the helicopter near the peak of the 13,000-ft Eiger with three others, but he collided with trees and crashed. An investigation into the accident is underway. His devastated friends described Hawkins as the ‘most extraordinary person’ and ‘daredevil’ who was never scared of taking any risk, The Sun reported. His close friend and former business partner, Steen Strand, with whom Hawkins started ICON Aircraft, announced his passing with a touching tribute. He wrote: “Kirk was the most extraordinary person I’ve ever known, or ever will know. Kirk devoured life experiences most of us would never touch. He was damn good at assessing risks, probably because he took so many. He’d get you into tricky situations, but he’s also the one you wanted beside you when things got dicey. “I imagine Kirk, in his final moments, knew what was coming, thought that line, and laughed one last time before the exit.”Kirk and Steen co-founded Icon Aircraft as they created the amphibious A5 light sport aircraft in 2006. Kirk held a Masters degrees in engineering and business which he earned from Stanford which helped him invent the seaplane. It was seen as an innovative aircraft when it was first launched but carried a hefty price tag of around $389,000.In 2017, ICON aircraft met a fatal accident in which former baseball player Roy ‘Doc’ Halladay died aged 40. Kirk left the company in 2018.
