The boy knows how to stir a stick!

Perhaps a little reckless banking so close to the ground, but you have to realize this guy does the same exact thing 30+ times a day, change days rinse and repeat, same location even- I doubt he is guessing wildly on what will happen. Having done this sort of flying quite a bit myself, I know that what seems kind of uncontrolled is actually pretty controlled most of the time. It just looks crazy to someone who doesn't do it. Many aerial applications appear more wild than they actually are.

Yeah I've heard it all before. And I've also done a good bit of this stuff. Guys with WAY more experience doing this stuff than Mr. Horta bite the dust every year.

Dive at the ground long enough and sooner or later you're bound to hit it.

Here is a list of the quals of the last four guys I knew who made a shallow impression on the ground.

1. Ex USN, thousands of hours of light A/C time and a factory demo pilot.
2. USAF retired career test pilot, all USAF time was in fixed wing fighters F-4, F-15, F-16 ETC...
3. Professional airshow pilot with multiple airshows under his belt.
4. Up and coming airshow pilot and Reno race competitor.

All except the last were also professional pilots in addition to their GA flying. Odds are if Mr. Horta keeps it up we'll hear about him too..

Not sure what you are saying. No amount of physical risk is excessive if you match it with an appropriate level of safety. You can get killed out walking your doggie (remember that movie?). If we see a talented aviator meet an untimely end, it is safe to assume that pilot exceeded the margin of safety for what they were doing. But not that such an activity can't be performed safely with the right safety measures. Meaningful statements about danger for a given activity must be based on accidents per number of hours, or events attempted. The rates may be high for some activities, but that does not mean they can't be done safely with enough safety considerations in place. If the rates are high, it would seem to indicate the current safety protocol is insufficient, but not that the activity is too dangerous to make safe.

The rates are extremely high and they get progressively higher as you get progressively lower to the ground. But please feel free to rationalize it anyway you'd like. As I've said I've heard these same arguments from the mouths of multiple dead pilots while they were still alive.

Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say, and almost all aviation safety rules are written in blood. I have lost close people too, happens every year, this last weekend a skydiver at my zone broke his back. Innocent kid who may never walk again for a simple hop-and-pop. But skydiving goes on, as does flying. A few weeks before that I posted about an IFR student I used to know who augured into a swamp near Savannah Georgia in low weather. Sure it's heart rending, but every accident gets a case review, and I do not think the spirit of aviation should stop because of its failures. The thing is to manage safety in agreement with the requirements of the risk. There will be mistakes and unknowns, but we should get back up after mourning the lost, making a study, and dusting ourselves off.

This appears to be a video of his landing from a ground prespective

LiveLeak.com - Crazy Landing!! Kids, do not repeat this at home!! Seen from the ground!

Exactly and there is no reason in the world to need to show off for a bunch of skydivers with a BS stunt like that turn to final. This reckless and stupid plain and simple. But as a professional pilot I'm sure you already understand that, right?

Watching the airplane land, all of the skydivers said to themselves: "I'm sure glad I jumped!" :p

Oh yeah I agree. Just wanted to keep it in perspective. That pilot had better quit doing reckless base to finals, or he won't make it to Christmas. A whip stall would be my bet, inside wing is not at the same AoA as the outside in the turn. Plus you have ground effect in the mix too. He is a trying to be test pilot, but not a very good one.