Overview

• Hawkins, 58, jumped from a helicopter with three other wingsuit flyers on Aug. 19 near the Eiger and struck trees west of Schüssellouwinegraben, according to local police.
• Officials said he died at the scene and confirmed that a formal inquiry into the circumstances of the crash is underway.
• Co-founder Steen Strand announced the death in a LinkedIn tribute, calling Hawkins “the most extraordinary person” and recalling his appetite for calculated risk.
• Hawkins co-founded ICON Aircraft in 2006, led development of the amphibious A5, and helped secure a 2013 FAA exemption that supported the model’s spin-resistance certification before deliveries began in 2016.
• After a series of A5 accidents that investigators attributed to pilot error, Hawkins departed as CEO in November 2018, and he remained a party to ICON’s 2024 Delaware Chapter 11 case in which prior settlements excluded him.