Erik Gates, who guest-starred as an Amateur Rocket Expert on the popular Discovery Channel show MythBusters, died in a freak accident Dec. 20. He was 47.
Gates was doing electrical work on a roof at a building in Newbury Park, California when he fell 30 feet from a skylight. Gates was an owner of Gateco Electric, which was employed at the site.
“He was a good guy,” Steve DeGennaro, who co-founded Xirrus’ with Gates’ brother, Dirk, tells The Ventura County Star. “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.”
“Team MB wishes to express our deepest sympathies on the passing of our beloved rocket expert, Erik,” followed by “You were an honorary MythBuster and will be sorely missed,” MythBusters Tweeted this week.