Sir Richard Branson's latest publicity stunt took an embarrassing turn when his trousers ripped during a 407ft descent from the Palms Casino Hotel in Las Vegas. The 57-year-old billionaire was promoting Virgin America, a new domestic airline in the U.S., by abseiling down the building.
After a confident start, Branson smashed his bottom twice into the building and realised his trousers had split. He clamped his hands to the damaged area and was lowered to the ground safely, looking pale and shaken. He was quickly escorted inside without answering questions.
Later, Branson downplayed the incident, saying: 'I never thought I would take the saying 'flying by the seat of my pants' quite so literally. I was lucky not to have hit my head. Fortunately Carmen Electra was on the ground to mop my brow.'
A Virgin source said the wind picked up during the stunt, causing Branson to bump against the building. He suffered bumps and bruises but did not require hospital treatment. This is not the first mishap for Branson; his 1985 Atlantic crossing attempt ended with his boat capsizing, and a 1986 hot-air balloon crossing crashed into the Irish Sea.
