I've said it before. This "short list" is made up of people who are more addicted to adrenaline rushes than they are to life.
Compare these guys to ancient warriors who led others into battle with primitive weapons, or the member of many early hunting parties who individually rushed the bear, cougar or other deadly prey, . . . They were the ones more likely to be killed, but man-o-man the thrill experienced just before dying!
But I wouldn't really know since I've never been there.
I think there is a small fraction of human beings who inherit this (recessive?)
death thrill gene and are driven to follow its lead. Some may be lucky enough to give up on their search for the
death thrill before it actually kills them. Hopefully, those are the ones with wives and/or children waiting for them back home.
It'd be interesting if science could find the DNA sequence responsible for creating
death thrill seekers. Who knows, people who like aviation related activities may have a less potent version with hang glider pilots having a bit more potent version. This short list, however, is clearly made up of people with the utterly undiluted version.