British wingsuit champion featured in BBC documentary is killed during a jump in the Swiss Alps

A British wingsuit champion who featured in a BBC documentary was killed during a jump in the Swiss Alps, his parents have confirmed.

Liam Byrne, from Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, was critically injured on the 7874ft Gitschen mountain in Switzerland on Saturday.

His parents confirmed to BBC Scotland that their 24-year-old son had sadly died.

‘We would like to remember Liam not just for the way he left this world, but for how he lived in it,’ a family statement read.

‘Liam was fearless, not necessarily because he wasn’t afraid but because he refused to let fear hold him back. He chased life in a way that most of us only dream of and he soared.’

Liam recently appeared in the BBC documentary ‘The Boy Who Can Fly’, following ‘the uplifting story of a young Scotsman defying conventional expectations and gravity’ over the course of a year.

Liam was one of the youngest top-tier base jumpers in the world and British champion in performance wingsuit flying, the title’s précis notes.

Wingsuit flying involves skydiving from a height using a webbed jumpsuit called a wingsuit that allows the wearer to glide horizontally down to earth.

Liam Byrne, 24, was critically injured on the Gitschen mountain in Switzerland

Liam Byrne, 24, was critically injured on the Gitschen mountain in Switzerland

Liam was an accomplished wingsuit flyer and recently appeared in a BBC documentary

Liam was an accomplished wingsuit flyer and recently appeared in a BBC documentary

MailOnline approached the Foreign Office for comment. 



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