Mythbusters Rocket Expert Erik Gates Dies in Accident

On December 20, 2009, Erik Gates, age 47, died. He fell thirty feet from a skylight at the headquarters of Xirrus Inc. He died at the hospital from the injuries sustained from the fall. Erik Gates is known to my family from his guest appearances on the show Myth Busters.


"He was a good guy," Steve DeGennaro, Xirrus' co-founder (along with Gates' brother, Dirk), tells the paper. "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." - Zap 2 It








I enjoyed watching his appearances on Mythbusters. He will be missed by many fans and friends. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family in their time of sorrow. This was a horrible accident that should not have happened. Proper safety precautions should have been taken on the roof. I hope that others will learn from this. Terrible accidents can happen to anyone and it is extremely important to put safety first.