On July 30, 2016, Luke Aikins (born November 21, 1973) American professional skydiver, BASE jumper, pilot, and aerial photographer jumped from an aircraft without any parachute or wingsuit at an altitude of 25,000 feet (7,620 m) above Simi Valley, California, watched by a live audience. After about two minutes of free fall he successfully landed in a 100-by-100-foot (30 by 30 m) net just outside of Simi Valley, California. Aikins reached a terminal velocity of 120 miles per hour (193 km/h) during the fall. The net was made from Spectra, a high-density polyethylene cord. It had four compressed air cylinders designed to gently slow him down after impact. The first skydiver to intentionally jump and land without using a parachute was Gary Connery in 2012 who wore a wingsuit to aid his landing.

Although several news articles headlines describe Aikins' achievement by focusing on the fact that he jumped and went to freefall without parachute, many others have jumped from aircraft without having a parachute when they departed the plane—they were either handed a parachute by a fellow jumper while in freefall or maneuvered to a container carrying a parachute, with first successes dating back to 1965. Others have jumped out of an aircraft and returned to the same or another aircraft without making use of parachute.