[Audible_logic]

Well, how about the possibility of the falling in the middle of a crowd? Should people be exposed to an exploding person raining from a skyscraper out of nowhere, long as the climber died doing what he/she loved? It would definitely ruin my day and possibly scar some people.

[gambiting]

That possibility is so miniscule it's not worth worrying about. If you love driving fast, you are exposing everyone around you to the possibility that you make a mistake and kill someone else. Don't see how this is any different, except for the fact that it's so rare it's more of a curiosity than anything else.

[jm__87]

There are laws against driving above a certain speed. This is exactly the argument that was being made above.

[wu-ikkyu]

This is a much better argument than the former, however this risk is inconsistent with the much more imminent risks we face every day which have been deemed acceptable to society.

Should people not be able to fly airplanes for pleasure?

[jm__87]

You have to be licensed to fly an airplane. You have to log a flight plan. I'm not an expert in aviation but I imagine if your flight plan includes something excessively risky that endangers the lives of yourself or others, someone is going to question it.

[jsjohnst]

Flight plans are essentially like driving directions, just a bit more involved. They don’t however include things like “I plan to do barrel rolls”, or “I’m going to fly inverted”, or “I’m going to bank beyond the limits of my air frame and possibly sheer off the wings”, the risky/stupid equivalent to what this guy did.