'JetMan' cancels flight over Grand Canyon
The Associated Press
Posted: May 6, 2011 6:36 AM ET
Last Updated: May 6, 2011 5:25 PM ET
Swiss pilot Yves Rossy, the first man to fly under a jet-fitted wing, speeds through the air over Bercher, Switzerland, in November 2010. Laurent Gillieron/Associated Press
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The JetMan's flight has been cancelled.
Swiss daredevil Yves Rossy tells KTTV-TV in Los Angeles that his plan to fly over the Grand Canyon in a jet-propelled wing suit Friday morning has been called off because he didn't have enough time to train.
The Federal Aviation Administration had approved plans for the 51-year-old adventurer to use Arizona's scenic wonder as a backdrop for his first U.S. flight in the suit.
Swiss pilot Yves Rossy, 51, speaks to reporters in Bercher, Switzerland, in 2010. Laurent Gillieron/Associated Press But Rossy says no professional aviator would fly into such a challenging place without the proper training, and he didn't have time to do that.
Rossy, who calls himself the JetMan, has talked about soaring over the Grand Canyon for years.
He planned to jump from a helicopter near Eagle Point, then fly westward along the rim of the canyon, using only his body to steer and his eyes to navigate. The flights typically range from six to 13 minutes before he runs out of fuel and opens up a parachute.
"If I do a mistake and half of U.S. television [is here], it's really bad for you, for me, for everybody," Rossy told The Associated Press from the Hualapai Reservation lookout point near Eagle Rock where onlookers had planned to watch him take off Friday.
The daredevil said he would still like to do the flight, but he has not yet rescheduled it.
Eagle Rock near the Hualapai Reservation lookout point is so named because the rock formation resembles an eagle with its wings outstretched. Carolyn Ryan/CBC
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