Grant Thompson, a 38-year-old YouTuber from Utah, tragically passed away this week in a paragliding accident.
Thompson was known as ‘The King of Random.’
His YouTube account of the same name had amassed over 11 million subscribers. He frequently posted videos and clips of experiments, projects, how-tos, and various other fittingly random activities.
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Thompson passed away in a paragliding accident, according to his family.
Thompson’s brother, Mark, told TMZ that the YouTuber had taken up paragliding about five months ago, but did not return at the expected time from a paragliding outing on Monday.
The site of the accident was located using GPS.
According to TMZ , the Washington County Sheriff’s Office says they received a call on Monday about an overdue paraglider. Using GPS data, a helicopter was able to locate the crash site, and discovered that recording equipment was also present.
The video recording is being reviewed in order to determine the cause of the accident.
YouTube tweeted out a message of condolences to Thompson’s family, friends, and subscribers, noting that Thompson was a gifted, passionate, and endlessly curious creator.
TMZ has reported that the recording equipment footage was analyzed on August 1st.
Their sources say that authorities have reviewed footage from a camera mounted on Thompson’s paramotor and have determined the cause of his death.
It appears there was a change in the updraft while Thompson was paragliding.
This updraft caused the parachute to malfunction. TMZ reports that the video made it clear that Thompson was immediately aware of the malfunction.
Thompson did not have time to deploy the reserve parachute in time.
While the reserve parachute did deploy, Thompson died on impact as he hit the ground less than four seconds after the initial problem.
The recorded footage will not be made available publicly.
Despite requests from some fans for the footage to be uploaded, it will not be released out of respect for Thompson’s friends and family.
The King of Random channel posted an In Memoriam video in connection to a fundraiser.
The channel is now raising money towards Outward Bound, a national network of regional schools with a shared mission of “Changing Lives Through Challenge and Discovery.”
“Grant’s mission was to learn through curiosity, exploration, and self reliance,” the channel says.
“These were his greatest passions in life. Outward Bound helps individuals develop these very values through challenging wilderness adventures and outdoor education.”
“Your donation will help others to discover these principles within themselves.”
The fundraiser had already raised over ten thousand dollars at time of publishing.
Thompson was 38 years old.
