Daredevil “Mad Mike” Hughes Dies in Rocket Crash on Mission to Prove Earth Is Flat
Mike Hughes, who had described himself as the “world’s greatest daredevil,” died Saturday when the launch of his homemade rocket failed. The 64-year-old was out on a mission to prove the Earth was flat, but his steam-powered rocket crashed shortly after takeoff near Barstow, California. Journalist Justin Chapman, who was working on a profile of Hughes, captured the launch and subsequent crash in a video he posted to Twitter. “Everyone was stunned. They didn’t know what to do,” Chapman told the Los Angeles Times. “He landed about a half a mile away from the launch pad.”