Daredevil stuntman dies in airshow tragedy

IT WAS a feat he had performed for the best part of a quarter of a century, enthralling the crowds below just as his father had before him.

But this harrowing sequence of photographs captures the moment wing-walker Todd Green plummeted hundreds of feet to his death after a stunt ended in tragedy.

Balancing about 200ft above the ground, the daredevil was perched on the wing of a Stearman biplane as he tried to grab on to the skid of a helicopter flying above. He twice failed to grab on to the craft. On his third attempt, Mr Green fell to the ground before tens of thousands of spectators.

The accident took place at about 1:30pm on Sunday during an airshow at the Selfridge Air National Guard base in south-east Michigan.

Onlooker Jeremy Mitchell said: “I thought it was part of the stunt. Even when the announcer said it wasn’t a part of the show, it still felt surreal.”

Mr Green, a father of one, was the son of Eddie ‘The Grip’ Green, a legendary aerial stuntman.

Paying tribute, friend and fellow performer Kyle Franklin said: “Todd was extremely good at what he did. He’s very proud of his legacy and his family’s legacy.”