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Giovanni Carta, also known as John Carta (Alghero, January 7, 1946 – Clear Lake, September 29, 1990), was an Italian American airman and parachutist, veteran of the Vietnam War.
He was nicknamed "Birdman." Carta was a Base Jumping pioneer and a veteran of the Vietnam War, where he piloted Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters on rescue missions.The Kingman Daily Miner, Man jumps from airplane onto World Trade Center tower, 11 September 2011 He was decorated with the War Cross for Military Valor.
He parachuted onto the roof of the World Trade Center in New York in 1981; and launched himself from a tower of the Verrazano Bridge in 1982.NBC, PARACHUTIST JOHN CARTA JUMPS OFF WORLD TRADE CENTER , September 1981Media Source Entertainment, Sky Circus Trailer , 1987 Chutist Lands Unhurt Atop the Trade Center, New York Times, 11 September 1981The Observerer, Jump was worth it, parachutist concludes, 11 September 1981The Hour, Parachutist's Next View May Be From Behind Prison Bars, 9 December 1982
In 1986, using a portable ramp, he jumped from the Foresthill Bridge in California on a motorcycle then deployed his parachute, leaving the motorcycle to smash to pieces in the canyon below.Jordan Fisher Smith, Nature Noir, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005
He jumped from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, in Italy, and from George Washington Bridge in New York, in 1987, after he missed the World Trade Center and landed in a construction zone. He was arrested and charged with Reckless Endangerment and his parachutes were confiscated. The charges were dismissed, and when he got his gear back he jumped from the George Washington Bridge. Boat rescues chutist after his bridge leap, Associated Press, 16 March 1987
He experimented with bat wings in many of his parachute launches.
On August 16, 1990, he broke his back after his parachute failed during a jump from an office building in Oakland; he was charged with trespass but the charge was dropped due to his injuries. AP NewsTimes Daily, charges won't be filed against parachuter, 19 August 1990
Carta was killed on September 29, 1990, when the Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon in which he was a passenger crashed during an impromptu aerobatics display over Clear Lake, California. Eighth Body Recovered From Plane Wreckage, Others Identified retrieved 31 October 2013 NTSb accident report, PV-2 Harpoon N7250C retrieved 31 October 2013
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