reporter: in the world of extreme sports potter was a living legend. that s the things that really drive me reaching into the unknown and seeing whether you have it in you or not. reporter: the daredevil who always spoke of flying pushed the boundaries of human achievement for decades, refusing to wear a safety harness. when i m in the air it s so powerful because you are playing with death right then. and it s like it s as cool as it gets. reporter: traveling the globe scaling the most difficult peaks in record time shocking even adrenaline junkies walking without a tether thousands of feet above the ground. and known outside the sports community for flying with his dog whisper. an estimated 200 base jumpers have died since 1908 according to wingsuitfly.com. others have been injured or arrested. two years ago, four men jumped from the top of one world trade center new york city and are still facing trial on felony
survive. the daredevil potter also spoke of flying and refused to wear a safety harness. it s so powerful. you are playing with death right then. it s like just as cool as it gets. base jumping is illegal at yosemite. officials are investigating the deadly accident but i m sure you would say he was doing what he loved sam smith won a music award for top male artist last night, but he was unable to accept it in person. he was in new york city recovering from vocal surgery, unable to speak. he accepted the award via remote. he ingeniously did that with cue cards. maybe we should do our job. smith wrote a heartfelt los angeles. lastly, seeing as you guys are in vegas taylor, and taylor swift to place a bet for him.
ferguson may have suffered a serious injury, but that won t stop him from taking flight again. i just enjoy the sport. and as soon as my amputation heals up, i m going to be back in the sky again with one arm. just when new yorkers think they ve seen it all, a woman dangles without a safety harness from one of new york city s monumental bridges. twisting and turning 300 feet above rush hour traffic. and if you re wondering, this is not legal. when i said fly high or die, what i was really saying was give me liberty or give me death. july 11, 2011. aerial dancer seana sharp prepares for one of the most dangerous performances of her life.
this is the risk you took. finally, help arrives in the form of a national guard black hawk helicopter. after several painful attempts to secure alex in the safety harness, he s successfully airlifted out. once they got me into the helicopter, they flew me out of the gorge and landed on top of the road, and they rolled me from one helicopter to another helicopter, and at that point i got to see my brother for the second time that morning, and it was really cool to see him again. with a compound fracture in his femur, a shattered patella, a broken hip and the insides of his knee exposed, alex is in really bad shape. when i got to the hospital, they rushed me in. i had about six to ten doctors working on me. i could see bones sticking out, i could see skin and blood and it was it was unbelievably painful.
a high-wire performer takes on a challenge at staggering heights. that may be too daunting even for him. 41-year-old aisikaier is a sixth generation performer. a master in the ancient chinese art of high-wire walking known as dowaze. he started training at the age of six and performs across his native china without a safety harness. translator: it s not exciting if you put on a safety belt. no dowaze person would use insurance methods. for those of us who walk the tight rope, if you get up there, you succeed. if you fail, then god bless you. you might die.