ARIZONA NEWS
Will Smith bungee jumps from helicopter near Grand Canyon
Sep 25, 2018, 3:16 PM | Updated: Sep 26, 2018, 7:19 am
PHOENIX — Actor Will Smith bungee jumped out of a helicopter near the Grand Canyon in Arizona on Tuesday.
You read that right: The actor marked his 50th birthday by bungee jumping from a helicopter in northern Arizona.
The stunt, which was streamed on YouTube, was billed as a leap “in the heart of the Grand Canyon.”
However, the “Fresh Prince” didn’t jump at Grand Canyon National Park but over a smaller gorge on the Navajo Nation. The tribe’s reservation borders the east rim of the national park.
Smith used the event to raise money for charity, and you might say it went off without a “Hitch.”
“Nothing will every be scarier than that,” he said afterward.
“It goes from complete, absolute terror to the most magnificent bliss you’ve ever felt in your life.”
In a video published in March, the actor accepted the challenge of a YouTube channel to “helibungee,” or, as we said, bungee jump while dangling from the side of a helicopter.
But Smith didn’t just walk into his decision blindly. He put a decent amount of thought into it, as the video showed.
“Before we get up there, we need to know all of the variables,” he said. “I don’t want any stone left unturned.”
The actor also wanted to know how many people had died doing the stunt. It was an fair question, if a bit grim.
Smith even said he wanted the guy helping him to call his kids, Willow, Jayden and Trey, but immediately backtracked.
“Don’t call them,” he said after.
There were also some tests conducted. Smith and his assistant dangled a “Men in Black” doll from a drone and flew it around the yard. They deemed the “helibungee” would be safe — well, as safe as it can get — after that.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
