Elite Aerial Sports Team Celebrates Leap Year 2012 With First-Ever February 29 Base Jumps in Three US Cities

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 29, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- The late February weather conditions were decidedly favorable for six team members of the Red Bull Air Force team to perform three legal base jumps today in Miami, Atlantic City, NJ, and Las Vegas, NV to ring in 2012's extra day which only comes every four years. The jumps took place off of The Conrad Miami Hotel in Espirito Santo Plaza (460 feet), The Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa (400 feet), and from the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino (480 feet).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120229/LA62532)

Every four years citizens around the globe are granted one extra day in the calendar year, and for the Red Bull Air Force (www.redbullairforce.com) this means 24 hours of bonus time to put the leap back into year.  In Atlantic City, which went off first this morning around 7:30 a.m. ET, Red Bull Air Force jumper Jeff Provenzano and teammate Othar Lawrence came to none other than the city that's "Always Turned On" to celebrate in pure East Coast style.

"To decide to do a successful jump, all the odds have to be in your favor like the weather, wind, physical and mental well being," said Provenzano. "Since we're in Atlantic City on a special day like this, I should have placed my bets."

Luke Aikins and teammate Andy Farrington followed in Las Vegas just after 9 a.m. PT where the city that never sleeps may have risen a bit earlier than usual. In a sport known for its renegades, Aikins is proud of the preparation and planning with all of the properties including the Mandalay Bay.

"It's so much better to be escorted to the edge by security than away from it," he stated after successfully returning back to solid ground.

With sketchy winds holding up the unprecedented jump from the Conrad Miami Hotel in downtown Miami, Red Bull Air Force jumpers Miles Daisher and Chris Santacroce were on the edge of their parachute packs hoping the high winds from the morning would clear. As Leap Day luck would have it, the winds subsided for a few moments just before 2 p.m. ET.

"The power of leap year and the support of the people of Miami stopped the wind just long enough for the Red Bull Air Force to sneak in two base jumps off the city's most iconic building," Santacroce commented after his jump. "This only happens every four years!"

Base jumps scheduled in Squaw Valley and in Detroit off of the General Motors Headquarters Tower were cancelled due to weather.

The Red Bull Air Force is an 11-person team assembled from the most accomplished and experienced skydivers, base jumpers, wingsuit fliers, and paraglider pilots on the planet. With gold medals in virtually every discipline and numerous world records to their credit, the team members combine for over 100,000 skydives and 6,000 base jumps (@RedBullAIR / #RBleapyear).

SOURCE Red Bull Content Pool

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