https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jgevp4/flat-earther-daredevil-mad-mike-hughes-dies-in-diy-rocket-crash

Daredevil and flat-Earth conspiracy theorist “Mad Mike” Hughes died in a DIY rocket crash in the Barstow, California desert, local authorities, TMZ, local media, and the Associated Press reported Saturday. He was 64 years old.

Footage shot by journalist Justin Chapman (embedded below) appears to show his parachute disconnected during the rocket’s ascent; Hughes fell several hundred feet without a parachute and crash-landed onto the ground. Hughes had a long history of launching himself on his crowd-funded, DIY, steam-powered rocket emblazoned with the words “FLAT EARTH” in an attempt to prove that the Earth is indeed flat.