Italian race and stunt pilot Dario Costa and a select group of high divers synched their arts in a world’s-first performance on the Adriatic Coast in southern Italy as Polignano a Mare gets ready to host the penultimate stop of the 2022 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series this weekend.

In a precisely orchestrated operation, Costa, who wrote a new chapter in aviation history with his tunnel pass flight near Istanbul a year ago, steered his Zivko Edge 540 race plane along the rocky coastline at 350km/h. At the same time, the first high diver stood on the edge of the 27- metre platform mounted on a private rooftop terrace to await the approach of the plane.

“The timing and coordination between all parties involved was the biggest challenge. In terms of the potentially disturbing elements that the plane and the whole dynamic of the project was bringing to the table, all of us involved managed to separate those and really focus on what we needed to do to get the best outcome possible.”