The jump is being broadcast live on the Fox network.
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Crowds cheered as he hurtled towards the ground at a speed of around 150mph, and landed safety in the “trap”, a net set 20 stories above the ground.
Also an airplane and helicopter pilot, Mr Aikins made his first tandem jump when he was 12, following with his first solo leap four years later.
After he landed successfully, the thrilled skydiver said: “I’m nearly levitating”.
A skydiver jumped from an airplane without using a parachute or wingsuit Saturday and became the first person to land that way safely.
Talley, who’d worked with Aikins on other projects and was helping Amusement Park Entertainment pitch a show to Fox, said Aikins is the only skydiver he’s confident can actually pull this off.
“If I wasn’t nervous, I would be stupid”, the compact, muscular athlete said with a grin as he sat near his landing spot earlier this week following a day of practice jumps – all made with a parachute. “I’ll just have to deal with the consequences when I land of wearing the parachute on my back and what it’s going to do to my body”.
“We’d been seeking an agreement and they wouldn’t allow us to sign one”, said a source connected with the show.
A fearless pioneer has done a world first – jumping from a plane 7600 metres above the ground without a parachute.
Then the others opened their parachutes and left him on his own. One had a camera, another trailed smoke so people on the ground could follow his descent and the third took off an oxygen canister after they got to an altitude where it was no longer needed.
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Further to his credit, Aiken is a safety and training advisor for the United States Parachute Association (USPA) where he provides advanced skydiving training to elite military Special Forces.
