Tancrède Melet, salut l'artiste

On 5 January 2016 Tancrède Melet perished at Dios in France. Together with his group The Flying Frenchies, the 32-year-old artist, slackliner, acrobat, basejumper and climber had stunned us all with unthinkable stunts and balance acts at altitude. Such as, for example, the highline between two hot air ballons, the slackline across the crevasse on the Géant glacier and all those incredible tricks contained in the Petit Bus Rouge.

According to media reports, Melet was in Diois in France together with other members of the group when, for reasons yet to be ascertained, the hot air ballon anchored to the ground started to lift off. While the other members managed to free themselves, Melet initially remained clipped in before falling to his death. Sébastien Montaz-Rosset, a great adventure companion, remembered his friend on Facebook as follows:

Such a talented and visionary bird is a rare breed… I haven’t met many like him.
Don’t be too quick to judge … he was twice as careful since becoming a father.
He didn’t fall trying a complicated move - the clown slipped on a banana skin… one of those sneaky things you can’t see coming.
Clipping the wings of our most brilliant bird.
Tanc, we won't forget you - you showed us how to make our dreams come true.
Salut l’artiste.