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Erik Gates of 'Mythbusters' Dies, Fell Through Skylight
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by Blaine Metzgar | December 29, 2009 at 09:19 am
30987 views | 11 Recommendations | 7 comments
Erik Gates, a rocketry expert who appeared on several episodes of Mythbusters, died. Gates was working on a roof when he fell through a skylight and plummeted 30 feet to his death. Aside from his four guest appearances on the Discovery Channel hit series Mythbusters Gates was the owner of firm Gateco Electric.
Gates was working with his brother, the President and CEO of Xirrus Inc., on a website owned by his brother, Dirk Gates' corporation. Both Erik and his brother were interested in rocketry to the point where they ran an amateur rocket website showcasing their rockets.
“He was a good guy,” Steve DeGennaro, Xirrus Inc.’s co-founder and chief financial officer, said Monday. “He survived cancer, he jumps with parachutes, he base jumps. He’s an active guy who was used to taking precautions. This was a freak accident that shouldn’t have happened.”
The Mythbusters regular suffered blunt force chest injuries from his fall on December 27, 2009. He was doing electrical work on the roof at the time of the fall.
Gates appeared on Mythbusters' pilot episode in 2003.
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at 11:24 on December 29th, 2009
Tragic
at 13:13 on December 29th, 2009
That's too bad
at 13:47 on December 29th, 2009
God Bless...
at 22:03 on December 29th, 2009
"The Eagle has wings."
at 08:32 on December 30th, 2009
Life is way to short and can be taken away in a second. We have to let those around us know what they mean to us
at 00:27 on January 6th, 2010
For all of those souls who are taken from us, in their short lives, may they rest in peace.
at 17:43 on January 9th, 2010
He died Dec. 20, 2009. Not Dec. 27. The Internet strikes again.Sources: Every other posting I could find.