Meet the woman who jumped off Dubai's Burj Khalifa, does head-down sky stunts, flies in wingsuit

Dubai: Cornelia Mihai has done what most people wouldn't dare to even dream of. She has jumped off Burj Khalifa, completed over 23,000 skydives in 23 years (equivalent of leaping off a plane every single day for 63 years), and made Dubai's skies her playground for 14 years.

The Romanian daredevil is one of Skydive Dubai's most experienced instructors and a Guinness World Record-holding member of its elite Swoop Team, specialising in canopy piloting, performing tricks and navigating courses just inches above water at high speeds with small parachutes.

She is also a record-holding member of the female VFS team who excel in Vertical Formation Skydiving, involving complex, head-down formations. In November, she was seen flying head down against the Himalayas and later she celebrated a "white" Christmas soaring above mountains like a bird in a striking white wingsuit.

Most recently, she lit Dubai skies on fire when she performed a paramotoring stunt with flares above Bluewaters Island along with her Skydive Dubai colleagues for Dubai Shopping Festival. You can see the same stunt again on January 10 at 8pm and 10pm, according to Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment.

But Cornelia’s crowning achievement came when she became one of just three women at the jaw-dropping EXIT139 event, where 31 of the world's best BASE jumpers leapt from a custom-built platform extending from the 139th floor balcony of Burj Khalifa in February 2025.

Born from Dubai’s relentless ambition and unshakeable resilience, EXIT139 became a defining global moment in human possibility.

BASE jumping is an extreme sport where people leap from fixed objects like Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and Earth (cliffs) using a parachute to slow their descent, making it statistically much riskier than skydiving from an aeroplane or wingsuit flying from a mountain, with less time and almost no room for error.

“I never thought in my lifetime that I would have the opportunity to jump from Burj Khalifa. It was at sunrise. It was amazing... I don't think it can be explained…it was just beautiful and unbelievable that we were able to do it," she told Gulf News.

Cornelia's Dubai story began in late 2011 when she arrived for a skydiving competition just a year after Skydive Dubai was launched.

"I had already heard a lot about skydiving in Dubai. I saw images of the beautiful scenery, jumping over Palm Jumeirah…I really wanted to make it here to experience it. And actually, it didn't even matter which discipline it was, I just wanted to make it to Dubai to see it with my own eyes."

The experience was everything she had imagined. "I loved it. And then I also got offered a job." Within three months, in March 2012, she had relocated permanently. "It seemed that Skydive Dubai was the place that could offer me opportunities to become better and to progress in the sport. So, I took a chance."

Behind the viral videos and death-defying stunts lies a carefully assembled team of 95 instructors from 35 countries.

"From the beginning, they brought the best professionals from around the world to teach everyone how to do everything at the highest level," she explained.

This concentration of talent has helped Skydive Dubai rack up staggering numbers: more than 475,000 tandem skydives, over 300 sky-high marriage proposals, and adventurers from more than 100 countries, all while maintaining one of the best safety records in the industry.

"We are very multicultural. We have instructors from all parts of the world. It's really nice to work in this environment where everyone is from somewhere else, and you learn to work together. With 95 instructors, you will always find an answer to whatever question you have."

From fly-by aerial displays at Dubai Run to night jumps for Dubai Shopping Festival, Cornelia has been part of numerous high-profile projects. So, what's the secret to pulling off these seemingly impossible stunts?

"I like that about this place. They don't put limits, they break boundaries. It's not like, 'Can we do that?' It's more like, 'How can we do that?' And I like that mentality," she revealed.

But spectacular doesn't mean reckless. "It's not like, 'Oh, let's just do something crazy.' It's like, 'How can you do it in a safe way?' We want to do the projects in the safest way possible. And I think it's doable with the right mentality, the right approach, and the right preparation."

After 23 years in the sport, Cornelia has mastered the art of calming nervous first-timers seconds away from jumping.

"I think I'm a bit of a psychologist by now," she said with a laugh. "I'm very proud of how I can calm people down. Some people want to change their mind. They're scared. It is scary. It is an adventurous sport. But I think driving on some roads is more dangerous! So, I kind of take it as a challenge and motivate them. Mostly it's about reminding them that we do this every day, that I've been jumping for over 20 years. That calms them down."

One story particularly stuck with her—a man from the Philippines who had saved money for two years specifically to skydive in Dubai. "For me, that was pretty impressive. You never know what sacrifices people make. Many people tell us that if they're gonna jump once, they're gonna jump in Dubai."

For Cornelia, the impact goes far beyond the adrenaline rush. She has witnessed countless transformations, from people overcoming deep-seated fears to discovering newfound courage.

"Skydiving changes lives. Maybe it won't necessarily make someone a skydiver, but it might make them look at life in a different way. A lot of people do this as a challenge, and then they end up either being braver or take up challenges in a different way."

The sport's transformative power, she believes, lies in confronting fear head-on. "We're not meant to fly, we're not meant to jump out of planes, but we do it. And the more you do it, the more you understand the risk, and the more you learn how to deal with it. It helps you overcome your personal challenges."

She paused, then added: "Life is short. Let's enjoy it. Up there, you forget about the daily tasks, because you just focus on the moment. And I think that's what appeals to a lot of people."

What started as a curiosity when she was 17 has become an all-consuming passion. Despite leaping into open sky from 13,000 feet 23,000 times, she shows no signs of slowing down. "There's always something new to learn, always a new technique. The sport is limitless."

When she's not hurling herself out of planes or off skyscrapers, Cornelia trains at Inflight Dubai, hangs out with her cat, Trouble, or rides her sport motorcycle around Dubai.

But it is the sky that keeps calling her back. The Palm Drop Zone, with its one-of-a-kind runway built in the water in 2011, remains her favourite. "I think it is the best way to see Dubai from the sky, for sure."

And with no plans to touch down permanently anytime soon, Cornelia has shown that for skydivers, the sky really isn’t the limit… it’s just the beginning. The adrenaline junkie puts it this way: “The world is our playground."